Liberty Media Corp. said Wednesday it has asked regulators for permission to convert its nonvoting interest in Time Warner Inc. into voting shares ahead of schedule.
The Federal Trade Commission has prohibited Liberty Media from converting the stake, about 4 percent of Time Warner, until February 2007 under an order issued when Liberty Media was a subsidiary of former cable giant Tele-Communications Inc.
The Douglas County-based holding company founded by cable entrepreneur John Malone asked the commission for the right to convert the stock early so it may participate in shareholder votes and actions, chief executive-elect Greg Maf fei said.
“We are pleased with the steps Time Warner has recently taken to enhance shareholder value, including the acceleration of its share-repurchase program, and look forward to additional actions,” Maffei said in a statement.
Last week, Time Warner settled a rancorous dispute with financier Carl Icahn, who had been pressing for a breakup of the giant media company.
Icahn agreed to not nominate several directors in exchange for several measures pledged by the company, including increasing its share-buyback program to $20 billion.
The FTC issued the order in 1997 when Liberty Media was a subsidiary of TCI, a competitor of New York-based Time Warner.
Maffei noted that Liberty Media no longer has an interest in any U.S. cable system.
