Analysts have in the past wondered if John Malone's company could eventually look to acquire control of Live Nation.
John Malone's Liberty Media said Thursday it was re-attributing its 33 percent stake in Live Nation Entertainment, along with other assets, from its Formula One Group to its SiriusXM tracking stock.
Analysts have wondered if Liberty could eventually look to acquire control of Live Nation.
"The reattribution, which is based on recent market prices for the publicly traded securities, is effective immediately," it said.
Liberty said $1.5 billion of net asset value has been reattributed from SiriusXM to Formula One Group and vice versa. That includes the entire $2.6 billion Live Nation stake consisting of 69.6 million shares of common stock, intergroup interest, debt and a cash payment of $1.4 billion.
“We are excited to announce the completed reattribution between Formula One Group and Liberty SiriusXM Group,” said Greg Maffei, Liberty Media president and CEO. “The new Formula One Group now has a strengthened balance sheet that positions us to support and enhance the Formula 1 business while also being opportunistic during these challenging times."
He added: "We believe the reattribution is also responsive to the request of many Formula One Group shareholders to create a more focused currency. For Liberty SiriusXM, this combines a complementary set of businesses that are established leaders in the live and audio entertainment space. Both the new Formula One Group and Liberty SiriusXM Group now have currencies with which to complete acquisitions, raise capital and engage in share repurchases, among other things.”
