Liberty Media Corp., the company controlled by billionaire John Malone, will combine the tracking stocks of its Liberty Starz and Liberty Capital units into one stock and plans to increase share buybacks.
The move, which will take place Nov. 28, will turn the tracking stocks into an asset- backed security, the company said Thursday in a statement. After the conversion, Liberty Media will have two classes of common stock, which will trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbols LMCA and LMCB.
The company, based in Doug las County, said the change will increase liquidity and create a stronger currency for acquisitions, while eliminating a “tracker discount.” Liberty’s assets include the Starz pay-TV business, and in August it invested $204 million in book retailer Barnes & Noble Inc.
Liberty also said Thursday it raised a $1.5 billion senior secured credit line and that it has “more opportunities to deploy it at a combined Liberty Media.”
The company increased the repurchase authorization for Liberty Capital’s common stock to $1.25 billion.
