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Category Archives: Liberty

Liberty Global (LBTYA) Stock Gains Today on Takeover Speculation

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Liberty Global (LBTYA - Get Report) shares are up 1.28% to $53.16 in early market trading on Tuesday following reports that the international telecommunications and television programmer is a takeover target, according to theNew York Times Dealbook.

Though yesterday's report does not suggest that a deal is imminent, the article does suggest that Vodafone (VOD) is a potential suitor with an outside shot at acquiring the company, while media conglomerates Comcast (CMCSA) and AT&T (T) are also seen as potential players in the coming years.

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Liberty Global is the largest international cable television company in the world with a market cap exceeding $40 billion. Its customer base exceeds 27 million subscribers and it generates more than $20 billion in revenue annually.

The company denied being open to a takeover with CEO Michael Fries tellingthe paper that the company has no plans to sell at this time.

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Liberty Global (LBTYA) Stock Gains Today on Takeover Speculation

Here's a Reason Liberty Media (LMCA) Stock is Slumping Today

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares ofLiberty Media (LMCA - Get Report)are down 0.59% to $39.62 in afternoon trading on Thursday after Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a "hold" rating and a $43 price target.

"Our price target only implies 7% upside, which we find to be too limited, but we do point out that Liberty and its related companies have historically created significant value through making wise investments, effective capital allocation, financial engineering and tax structuring," Deutsche Bank noted about the media company.

This potential but limited upside comes from two sources, a narrowing of the net asset value (NAV) discount to 7.5% from an estimated 12% and the upside implied by the price targets for Time Warner (TWX) ($100) and Viacom (VIAB) ($83), the firm's analysts estimate.

Last year, Liberty attempted to merge with SiriusXM (SIRI), analysts said, adding that "Liberty Media has said it would consider another merger proposal under the right circumstances, and we see narrowing the NAV discount as the key to this."

Liberty Mediafocuses on the media, communications and entertainment industries through its ownership of interests in subsidiaries and other companies.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates LIBERTY MEDIA CORP as a Hold with a ratings score of C. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate LIBERTY MEDIA CORP (LMCA) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, expanding profit margins and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity and weak operating cash flow."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

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Here's a Reason Liberty Media (LMCA) Stock is Slumping Today

Valentine's Day love dispute turns violent in Liberty County

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The Liberty County Sheriff's Office is searching for a Dayton man accused of shooting another man five times in a dispute over a woman early Saturday.

Police said Marshal Gerald Coffin, whose age was not released, confronted Victor Robert Pereida about 6:15 a.m. at the south Liberty County home that Pereida shares with a woman.

Witnesses told police that Coffin was in a relationship with the woman and confronted Pereida about his relationship with the same woman, according to officials.

Investigators said Coffin then shot Pereida four times in the torso and once in the leg with a .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol and fled.

Pereida, 50, remains in critical condition after being airlifted to a Houston hospital, according to the sheriff's office.

Coffin has been charged with aggravated assault.

Investigators said Coffin apparently lives in the 7100 block of Highway 90 in Dayton and drives a gold 1998 Ford Ranger pick-up truck. The Texas license number is AP8 0494.

If you have any information about Coffin's location, contact the Liberty County Sheriff's Office at (936) 336-4500.

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Valentine's Day love dispute turns violent in Liberty County

Liberty Media CEO Doubts HBO Will See Much Over-the-Top Success

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Updated from March 5 to include potential partnerships in the sixth paragraph.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Liberty Media (LMCA - Get Report)CEO Greg Maffeiturned up the heat this week in the long-simmering competition between cable-TV's premium channels.

In a shot at rival Time Warner (TWX - Get Report), Maffei told investors at a conference hosted by Morgan Stanley that HBO shouldn't expect to generate much demand or profit from its Internet-based standalone service, which is expected to launch later this year.

Conversely,Starz (STRZA), of which Maffei is chairman through Liberty's inter-locking corporate structure, is better positionedthan HBO to see profit from alternative offerings from traditional cable-TV and satellite distributors, he said.

"It's unclear to me that there's a massive amount of over-the-top demand for HBO," Maffei said, expressing doubt that consumers will be willing to pay anywhere around $15 for a non-bundled premium-channel service. "It's not clear to me that that's going to create enormous amount of incremental demand for HBO. What is clear to me is that there are people who don't want to get behind the bundle."

In October, HBO CEO Richard Plepler announced plansto sell online subscriptions tothe channel as an Internet-based offering. The goal, Plepler said, was to win over the10 million U.S. homes that have an Internet connection but don't subscribe to pay-TV as well as the 70 million homes that get pay-TV but don't get HBO.

But HBO's strategy could run into resistance from cable-TV providers who fear that the standalone offering could cannibalize their overall service, saidPivotal Research Group analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak.

"HBO's hope is that by not being part of the more expensive digital package they will be better able to expand their market," Wlodarczaksaid in an e-mail. "As HBO tries to go direct to the consumer there is no ability for HBO to capture extra margin because today distributors make no money on HBO."

Yet HBO carries more leverage with cable-TV and satellite operators than its rivals at Starz or CBS's (CBS) Showtime, saysShahid Khan, co-founderofMediamorph, the New York-based media industry software and data provider. Time Warner will be faced with additional technology and billings related to brining HBO online, but subscriber growth will largely turn into profits. "There are additional costs to unbundling but you can pretty much use the infrastructure that you use for your TV Everywhere structure -- it's not that much more," Khan said in a phone interview. "HBO isthe highest leveraged premium channel out there, so they can afford to piss off the [cabel-TV] partners. The others, like Starz, may not be able to." Cable-TV distributors, Wlodarczak added, profit handsomely from Starz, and with HBO going direct through an online offering, distributors will be incentivized to push alternative packages that include premium channels. Under CEO Chris Albrecht, Starz has increased its production of original programming, including serials such asOutlander and Black Sails, following the transition amongpremium cable-TV channels from libraries of films and TV serials into networks of production and acquisitions. Premium networks such as HBO and Starz, Maffei said, should be most concerned with "cord cutters" who are dropping their cable or satellite services completely, and "cord shavers," who are reducing their bundled services. Such consumers may consider the HBO over-the-top offering, but find that they would prefer to pay for Netflix (NFLX), which offers a wide variety TV serials, films and increasingly, its own content. An HBO spokesman declined to comment. Starz, Maffei said, may choose not to offer an online service but instead roll out a different product in conjunction with its cable, telco and satellite partners. Maffei didn't elaborate on what that project might be. That's a strategyWlodarczak said could be successful.

If Starz' original content effort is highly successful "they have the opportunity longer term to go direct and capture a lot of margin going to distributors," he said. "Realistically, the best move for Starz is to be the best partner possible to their distributors." Must Read: Warren Buffett's Top 10 Stock Buys

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Liberty Media CEO Doubts HBO Will See Much Over-the-Top Success

Liberty Media CEO Takes Aim at HBO, Skeptical of Internet Service

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Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei is taking aim at longtime competitor Time Warner, saying he doesn't expect its premium channel HBO to generate much demand or profit from its Internet-based standalone service expected later this year. Maffei, chairman of rival Starz, told investors at a conference this week that he is doubtful consumers will be willing to pay anywhere around $15 for the non-bundled service, according to TheStreet's Jeff Berman. Consumers who are trying to save money by dropping channels may consider the HBO over-the-top offering, Maffei said, but find they would prefer to pay for Netflix instead, which plans to boost its original programming next year. Also, he said there doesn't seem to be much room for incremental profit from the service.

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Liberty Media CEO Takes Aim at HBO, Skeptical of Internet Service

Julie Goodnight: How to attach the neck rope for liberty work and bridleless riding – Video

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Julie Goodnight: How to attach the neck rope for liberty work and bridleless riding
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By: Julie Goodnight

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Julie Goodnight: How to attach the neck rope for liberty work and bridleless riding - Video


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