Posts for Ticker ‘LCAPA’

Are CBS (CBS) And Sprint (S) At Risk For Bankruptcy?

bearAudit Integrity, a research firm, has come out with a list of the large American companies which are most likely to go bankrupt in the next year. The data behind the figures seem valid, but some of the companies on the list which include CBS (CBS), Sprint (S), AMD (AMD), and Sirius XM (SIRi) seem improbable candidates.

The corporate communications staffs of these companies and their outside public relation firms will tell their managements to keep quiet and not react. A reaction, they will argue, just makes it look like Audit Integrity knows what it is doing and that there is some validity to their analysis. Audit Integrity is probably counting on that. It will get a lot of exposure for the study and little ,if any, legitimate criticism.

Audit Integrity says its research services support risk management practices that help investors, insurers and others lower risk and improve performance with objective ratings and reports.

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Posted on: September 18, 2009 – 2:34 pm in Research, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DIRECTV & Liberty Media: Complicating An Enigma (DTV, LINTA, LINTB, LMDIA, LMDIB, LCAPA, LCAPB)

DIRECTV Group, Inc. (NYSE: DTV) has announced that it is going to combine with Liberty Entertainment, Inc., and then the company will be split off from Liberty Media.  This supposedly puts the control of DIRECTV in the hands of the shareholders.  While Liberty’s structure was complicated before, this “simpler” structure is one which may also leave shareholders scratching their heads.
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Posted on: May 4, 2009 – 7:48 am in Entertainment, Media, Mergers and Buy Outs, Satellite, , , , , , ,

SIRIUS XM Scores Debt Rating Upgrade (SIRI, LCAPA)

sirius-logoSIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) might not exactly seem like the most stable or improving company by any financial statement analysis on the surface.  If that is really the case, then why has Standard & Poor’s just come out and upgraded the debt ratings of the company?  That is what has happened.  Straight from the “you would not have guessed it” department.

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Posted on: April 14, 2009 – 3:45 pm in Analyst Calls, Entertainment, Media, Satellite, ,

Early Bird Analyst Calls (BBBY, BBT, FHN, LCAPA, OIIM, RF, STI, UHS)

These are some of the early bird analyst upgrades and downgrades we have seen on Wall Street this Thursday morning ahead of the long weekend:

Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) Cut to Neutral at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
BB&T (NYSE: BBT) Cut to Underperform at KBW.
First Horizon National (NYSE: FHN) Cut to Underperform at KBW.
Liberty Media Capital (NASDAQ: LCAPA) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
O2 Micro (NASDAQ: OIIM) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
SunTrust (NYSE: STI) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
Universal Health (NYSE: UHS) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Jon C. Ogg

Posted on: April 9, 2009 – 6:19 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Sirius XM Holders Get To Live Longer (SIRI, LINTA, LINTB, LCAPA, LCAPB, LMDIA)

sirius-logoSirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) and Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LINTA, LINTB, LCAPA, LCAPB, LMDIA) have announced the closing of the second and final phase of the John Malone rescue package.

Under terms of the deal,  Malone’s Liberty will invest in Sirius XM.  The satellite radio provider and its lenders have also agreed to extend its outstanding loans which are due in May.
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Posted on: March 6, 2009 – 1:09 pm in Media, Mergers and Buy Outs, Satellite, , , , , ,

Is Liberty Exiting IAC/InteractiveCorp Entirely? (IACI, LINTA, LINTB, LMDIB, LCAPA, LCAPB)

Money_stack_pic_3John Malone and Barry Diller had their full round of the boxing match last year.  But now it seems another fight may be under way.  Liberty Media Corp. has been unloading shares of IAC/InteractiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI). There have been steady reports and filings over the last week (and even in prior weeks) showingthat Liberty was unloading those shares. But a new filing shows that sales are continuing into 2009, and you have to wonder if Liberty is on its way to just calling it a day.

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Posted on: January 6, 2009 – 3:08 pm in Insider Activity, Internet, Media, , , , , ,

Libery Media’s Malone Unloads Shares… To Liberty Media (LCAPA, LINTA, LMDIA)

Liberty_media_logoChairman John Malone of Liberty Media Corp. (NASDAQ: LCAPA) sold 4.5 million shares of common stock on October 7, 2008 at a price of $11.00 per share.  He still holds more than 2.7 million shares of Series A Common Stock.  The other units of Liberty trade under the "LINTA" and "LMDIA" tickers as well.

This was part of Liberty’s repurchase plan, but it was a privately negotiated transaction as this trade nor enough shares crossed on the exchange on that day.  According to trade recaps, this stock only traded 1.04 million shares of common stock on October 7 and the stock closed at $11.22 with an intra-day trading range of $11.16 to $12.49.

Jon C. Ogg
October 9, 2008

Posted on: October 9, 2008 – 1:42 pm in Insider Activity, Media, , ,

IAC/Interactive vs. Liberty: Diller Trumps Malone (IACI, LINTA, LCAPA, LMDIA)

IAC/InteractiveCorp. (NASDAQ: IACI) and Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LINTA) (NASDAQ: LCAPA) (NASDAQ: LMDIA) have settled their disputes, and it looks like Barry Diller Came out on top of John Malone.

We covered this scenario in our SPECIAL SITUATION newsletter that went out on April 2, 2008 at $21.22; and the intro to subscribers was as follows:

  • ….Our current pick is IAC/Interactive (NASDAQ: IACI), and we gave three likely scenarios we believe to occur. Our downside target limits the implied risk to 12% if you hedge your transaction as we would do. The upside would be an implied 33% to more than 50% if the scenarios pan out the way we expect. Barry Diller isn’t entirely out of the soup yet and Malone may have some more tricks up his sleeve. After the ruling came out we ran the hard detailed numbers and eyeballed various probabilities for this call….

Liberty has agreed to drop its appeal and will not oppose the proposed single-tier spin-offs of HSN, Interval International, Ticketmaster and Lending Tree.  IAC advanced those filings earlier today by making its initial filings with the SEC.  This is all within our line of expectations and should clear the way to the unlocking of value.

Liberty & IAC also agreed on a number of arrangements regarding the governance of the spun off companies as follows:

  • Liberty’s right to board representation on each company,
  • a standstill agreement that limits Liberty’s ability to increase its ownership stakes,
  • and to take a variety of other actions with respect to the spun off companies.

You can join our open email distribution list to hear about other break-ups, IPO’s, secondary offerings, special financings, mergers, spin-offs, and other special situations.

John Malone may be happy with what he got here and he may not, but as far as we are concerned this looks like a clear win for Barry Diller.  IAC shares closed up 2.7% at $23.00 in normal trading today, and shares are up over 3% at $23.85 in after-hours trading.

Jon C. Ogg
May 12, 2008

Jon Ogg produces the twice-monthly SPECIAL SITUATION INVESTING subscriber newsletter and he can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: May 13, 2008 – 4:42 pm in Earnings, Internet, Law, Media, Shareholder Issues, Stock Splits, , , ,

Barry Diller Gets Wish To Hammer IACI (IACI) Shareholders

Barry Diller and John Malone went after one another in court over whether Diller could get shareholders in IAC/Interactive (IACI) to approve breaking the company into five piece. Each would be traded as a public company. Malone’s Liberty Media (LCAPA) said that the voting rights it had given Diller for its shares did not extend to the level which would allow them to be voted for dismantling the company.

The entire matter was pushed into the Delaware courts, and Diller won. According to MarketWatch "Vice Chancellor Stephen Lamb ruled Friday that "Liberty has failed to demonstrate that Diller has breached or threatened to breach any contractual duty he owes to Liberty," according to Lamb’s 78-page opinion."

For shareholders, it is a Pyrrhic victory. IACI shares trade near a 52-week low at $20.49. The were above $40 in February of 2007. Revenue growth at the company’s big HSN operation has been very modest. Operating income at the unit fell last year. The firm’s Lending Tree operation has been badly damaged by the current downturn in housing. IACI’s media operations, which include Ask.com, are too small to compete with operations like AOL and MSN.

Diller may have won in court, but it did nothing for his shareholders.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: March 29, 2008 – 6:06 am in Media, ,

This Week’s Top Share Buyback Changes (SCHW, DRH, LCAPA, QCOM, TBL, TEL)

There was an absence of major buyback announcements this week.  That coincides with the lack of as many earnings reports as well.  Below are some of the standout buyback and repurchase announcements from this week:

Charles Schwab Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHW) boosted its buyback plan Thursday by approving an additional $500 million in buybacks, making the total buyback amount $619 million. Charles Schwab’s market cap is $23.6 billion.

DiamondRock Hospitality Co. (NYSE: DRH), a real estate investment trust (REIT), announced on Monday that up to 4.8 million shares were approved for repurchase. $1.24 billion is their current market cap.  It isn’t unique, but REIT’s rarely repurchase shares compared to other sectors because they have to distribute most of their income.

Liberty Media Capital (NASDAQ: LCAPA) has approved $1 Billion in repurchases of Liberty Entertainment common stock and $300 million of Liberty Capital common stock on Monday. Their market cap is $1.95 Billion.

QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) approved a $2 Billion buyback plan Tuesday. The program will replace a $3 Billion buyback that currently had $2 million remaining. The current market cap for QUALCOMM is $64.9 Billion.

Timberland Co. (NYSE: TBL) authorized on Monday another 6 million shares for repurchasing. The apparel and footwear company currently has 1 million shares left from its previous 6 million share repurchase program. They have a market cap of $816 million so this would retire close to another 10% of its stock.

Tyco Electronics, Ltd. (NYSE: TEL) also upped its buyback plan on Thursday by $500 million, reaching $1.25 billion in authorized repurchases. Since September, Tyco Electronics has repurchased $512 of its common stock. Market cap sitting at $15.7 billion.

Rachel Lopez
March 14, 2008

Posted on: March 14, 2008 – 9:57 am in Stock Buybacks, , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (DVR, GHDX, KLAC, KR, LCAPA, LOW, NOK, PBT, TMA, UBS)

Below are the top calls that 247WallSt.com is focusing on in pre-market trading this Wednesday:

  • Cal Dive International (NYSE: DVR) Raised To Overweight at JP Morgan.
  • Genomic Health (NASDAQ: GHDX) Cut To Neutral at JP Morgan.
  • KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) cut to Underperform at Oppenheimer.
  • Kroger (NYSE: KR) cut to Underweight at at JPMorgan.
  • Liberty Capital (NASDAQ: LCAPA) cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  • Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) cut to Underperform at Morgan Keegan.
  • Nokia (NYSE: NOK) raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
  • Permian Basin (NYSE: PBT) cut to Hold at Citigroup.
  • Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA) Raised to Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
  • UBS (NYSE: UBS) cut to Underperform at KBW.

Jon C. Ogg
March 12, 2008

Posted on: March 12, 2008 – 6:51 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Can Diller Buy Malone Off With Home Shopping Network?

There has been some speculation that Barry Diller might be able to keep control of IAC/Interactive (IACI) without fighting with majority shareholder Liberty Media, if he hands over his largest division, The Home Shopping Network. Liberty, controlled by John Malone, might think it would get the better part of the deal.

According to The Wall Street Journal the two companies "might negotiate a deal in which Mr. Malone would take control of HSN and possibly another asset in return for giving up its majority voting stake in IAC." Pretty nifty.

The problem is that HSN is a dog. A look at the pro forma numbers provided by IACI show that in the fourth quarter HSN revenue rose only 3% to $905 million. Operating income fell 7% to $79 million.Malone would be giving up his control of IACI, which is worth $6 billion, and not be getting much in return.

Malone also owns QVC, another home-shopping operation. There is no evidence that is net customer gain in owning both networks would be significant. On the other hand, he might have a large net gain in the number of people who sit in front of TVs looking a pictures of cheap jewelry and giving out their charge card numbers.

Malone is better off mounting a proxy fight.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: February 12, 2008 – 6:03 am in Media, ,

Pre-Market Analyst Calls (September 18, 2007)

CAM cut to Mkt Perform at Wachovia.
CYPB started as Buy at Citigroup.
DMAN started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
ENB raised to Outperform at CIBC.
ERTS started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.
ETFC cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
FMC cut to Underperform at Wachovia.
GET started as Buy at Jefferies.
GM cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
HHS cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
ITW cut to Hold at BB&T.
KWD cut to Neutral at First Albany.
LCAPA started as Outperform at Wachovia.
LMT raised to Buy at Merrill Lynch.
MEND cut to Sector Perform at CIBC.
MYGN started as Hold at Citigroup.
NCI cut to Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
NLY started as Buy at JMP Securities.
ONNN raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
PETD started as Buy at Sun Trust Robinson Humphrey.
RRR raised to Overweight at Lehman.
SRVY raised to Overweight at Lehman.
SSL cut to Neutral at UBS.
VC raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
WBD cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
WX started as Neutral at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
September 18, 2007

Posted on: September 18, 2007 – 7:07 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,