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JOHN MALONE FIGHTS FOR HIS LIBERTY IN AT&T MERGER WITH TCI

          Liberty Media "will become an extremely, deep-pocketed
     investor scouting for new deals in Hollywood as a result of
     AT&T's acquisition of TCI," according to Peers & Katz of
     DAILY VARIETY.   Liberty "will emerge" from the deal as an
     "independent company, nominally part of AT&T but controlled"
     by Malone, with $5.5B in cash and "plentiful borrowing
     capacity."  Liberty currently partners with News Corp. on
     Fox/Liberty Sports, a national arm of 22 RSNs reaching about
     60 million homes.  Liberty also holds interest in Discovery,
     Time Warner, USA Networks, QVC and BET.  Malone: "What this
     presents us with is the opportunity to build new startup
     assets."  Peers & Katz: "With this much firepower, much more
     than it has ever enjoyed, Liberty could be a candidate to
     buy Internet companies, startup cable networks, expand in
     international programming or even buy a Hollywood studio"
     (DAILY VARIETY, 6/25).  AT&T will "not have a direct
     financial interest in Liberty."  Liberty will be owned by
     Malone, other TCI and Liberty execs, and the public (N.Y.
     TIMES, 6/25).  In N.Y., Leslie Cauley writes that Liberty's
     structure was "an apparent concession" to Malone, as it will
     remain, "for all practical purposes, basically independent,
     with few restrictions" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/25).  
          NEW PROJECTS: In N.Y., Eben Shapiro reports that while
     Liberty is "already a powerhouse in cable programming,"
     Malone will have "free rein to make it even more potent." 
     He is "expected to add" to Liberty's TV channels, possibly
     by "starting some new ones" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/25). 
     Media investor David Fiszel from Omega Advisors: "Liberty is
     one of the cable industry's most valuable collection of
     cable assets" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/25).  Malone: "Obviously,
     we love our Liberty" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/25).
          DOLAN IN THE DOUGH: In N.Y., Paul Tharp reported that
     "outsiders also made a killing" in yesterday's deal.  Shares
     of Cablevision "soared" 14 to 76, making its Chair, Charles
     Dolan, a "paper profit" of $91.8M (N.Y. POST, 6/25).  TCI's
     stake in Cablevision "will soon rise" to 36%, meaning AT&T
     will own more than one-third of the company (NEWSDAY, 6/25).

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