NEW YORK — Barry Diller and John Malone, two media moguls whose partnerships over the past 17 years have been rocky at times, are cutting more of their business ties as Malone’s Liberty Media sheds its voting stake in Diller’s IAC/InteractiveCorp.
Diller, 68, also is stepping down as chief executive of IAC, though he will stay on as chairman and likely increase his ownership stake. His replacement is Greg Blatt, 42, who has been with IAC since 2003 and most recently served as CEO of the online dating site .
Douglas County-based Liberty Media gave up its 60 percent voting stake in IAC for $220 million in cash and IAC’s small but profitable Evite and businesses.
“These last 17 years of my association with John Malone and Liberty Media have been a great, and occasionally, wild ride,” Diller said.
Liberty sued IAC in 2008 after IAC split into five publicly traded companies, diluting Liberty’s power. Liberty later dropped the fight after a judge sided with Diller. More recently, Diller sold nearly all of his shares in Live Nation Entertainment, the company he helped create through the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. He resigned as chairman of the combined company after a boardroom power struggle with Malone. The Associated Press; AP file photo
