DirecTV gets new owner... bye bye Rupert...

[Rosco T.]

http://money.cnn.com/2006/12/22/news/companies/liberty.reut/index.htm?postversion=2006122209

News Corp., Liberty Media swap stakes
News Corp. trades its controlling interest in DirecTV for Liberty's $11B stake in News Corp.; deal follows two years of negotiations.
December 22 2006: 9:41 AM EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- News Corp. said Friday it has agreed to swap its controlling interest in DirecTV Group Inc., other assets and cash for Liberty Media's $11 billion stake in News Corp.

News Corp., (Charts) the Rupert Murdoch-controlled owner of the 20th Century Fox movie studios and MySpace.com, said it will exchange its 38.5 percent stake in the DirecTV (Charts), $550 million in cash, and three regional sports networks for Liberty Media's 16.3 percent stake in News Corp.

The deal ends two years of negotiations between long-time associates Murdoch and Liberty Media (Charts) Chairman John Malone, who once helped rescue Murdoch from near bankruptcy.

Malone had quietly snapped up close to a 20 percent voting stake in News Corp., a move that spooked Murdoch, who enacted an emergency poison pill provision to block a potential hostile takeover. The swap deal has been approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to close by mid-2007.

[Neecy]

1. Liberty Media...

This rings a bell somehow. Isn't this another RW outfit?

[helderheid]

2. not sure - here's their site

http://www.libertymedia.com/default.htm

[Warpy]

3. Here's their director

"Malone is a complicated hero; focused and driven, he built his empire largely through clever, complicated financing deals that sidestepped bank rules and taxes and enriched an inside group of shareholders. In the spirit of "charge as much as you can for a product...and spend as little as you can get away with," TCI, the author says, provided shoddy service to cable subscribers and bought out potential competitors to keep the cable industry an insular cartel." http://www.amazon.com/Cable-Cowboy-Malone-Modern-Business/dp/047123639X

Doesn't sound like a nice guy, does he?

I couldn't find anything on his politics, but his sleazy financial dealings would seem to mark him as GOP.

[valerief]

4. Sounds like a regular comb-sucker. nt