Liberty Media Corp. reported strong third-quarter results Monday, thanks to its QVC home-shopping unit and Starz cable-TV network.
At the same time, the Douglas County-based company has made progress in talks with News Corp. regarding an asset- for-stock swap, which could include satellite provider DirecTV.
“While I’m not sure where our negotiations with News will take us, one of the elements of a DirecTV deal that is appealing is the flexibility we would have,” said Liberty chief executive Greg Maffei.
Liberty has a 19 percent stake in News Corp., which has a 38 percent controlling stake in El Segundo, Calif.-based DirecTV.
Liberty, which split its holdings into two groups – Liberty Interactive and Liberty Capital – in May, reported comprehensive income of $63 million for the third quarter, compared with a loss of $94 million a year earlier.
Third-quarter income for Liberty Interactive, which includes QVC, was up 44 percent to $257 million, compared with $179 million for the comparable quarter a year ago.
In addition to higher demand for apparel and accessories, QVC benefited from Liberty’s February acquisition of online retailer Provide Commerce.
Liberty Capital, which includes Starz Entertainment Group, saw income climb 14 percent to $40 million, compared with $35 million a year ago.
Analysts said they were pleased with Liberty’s quarter.
“The numbers were good. QVC performed ahead of expectations,” said Janco Partners analyst Matthew Harrigan. “Everyone’s waiting to see what’s going to happen with DirecTV and News Corp.”
The companies may be trying to hammer out details on valuing DirecTV, he said, which could be more favorable than the current $27.4 billion market valuation of DirecTV.
“They’re not bound to do a transaction that is based on the News Corp. or DirecTV stock price on that day,” Harrigan said. “It’s a conceptual trade.”
Bloomberg News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-954-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
