Daily Archives: August 10, 2012

Liberty Media Corp., a Centennial-based holding company, announced Wednesday that it will spin off its Starz cable channels into a separate company, immediately stirring questions about the company's future in the Denver area.

The separation should be completed by the end of the year, creating a new, publicly held company.

"I think in this market, people always like pure plays," said Matt Harrigan, a Denver-based analyst for Wunderlich Securities. "It just makes sense to keep them different and separate."

The separation is meant to accomplish several goals, including greater clarity for investors regarding the business operations of Starz, improving its capital structure, and creating two "currencies" that can be used for acquisitions, said Greg Maffei, president and chief executive of Liberty.

Seeking to quell rumors of a major shift toward Los Angeles, Starz told The Denver Post that the split will not affect its operations at the Denver location.

Maffei also hopes that this move will produce greater liquidity for Liberty Media as it attempts to buy up more stock in the satellite radio broadcaster SiriusXM and the events promoter Live Nation, further increasing ownership in those companies.

Liberty Media expects the spinoff to be tax-free for its stakeholders.

Starz will consist of 100 percent of Starz LLC, about $1.5 billion in debt, and a yet-to-be determined amount of cash.

Chris Albrecht, currently the CEO of Starz LLC, will remain in his position.

"I think they're very committed to Chris Albrecht and what he can do," Harrigan said.

Read the original here:
Liberty Media and Starz to become separate companies

The malnourished animals found packed inside a Liberty County home, where 15 dogs, two horses and a 1-year-old baby were discovered living in filth this week, are getting medical attention as they await future court proceedings to decide their fate.

On Tuesday evening , a 1-year-old baby was found in a dirty, hot house after Liberty County Sheriff's Office officials responded to an animal cruelty report at 105 County Road 2802 in Cleveland. A horse was found dead and other sickly animals were found on the property.

The Houston SPCA rescued the dogs, four of which were puppies, and two horses from the property on Wednesday. Tara Yurkshat, Houston SPCA vice president of animal welfare, said Thursday that each animal is now on an individual medical plan. Many were under-weight, some were heart-worm positive and many had general eye and skin infections. One of the recovered horses has an injury to a hoof.

The animals were visibly underfed when the crews took them from the house, which reeked of a foul stench, with their ribs showing.

Read more: Couple from filthy home on probation over kids

The SPCA is taking care of the animals, now considered wards of the state, while the courts decide the fate of the animals. They are not available for adoption at this time.

"Basically, we are their caretakers until we know the next step for them," Yurkshat said. "They are resting, comfortable, getting food and water and TLC. That's what they really need."

The little girl was also found in the rural house, among trash, roaches, drinking from a dirty bottle with spoiled milk. Her parents were already on probation for a previous injury to a child charge, and had five children taken from their care.

Captain Rex Evans with the Liberty County Sheriff's Office said deputies still consider the child's father Aaron Parker a person of interest and would like to talk to him about the house and his baby. Parker is not considered a suspect at this time. The child's mother Mabel Larsen is in custody facing an animal cruelty charge, with additional charges pending.

Excerpt from:
Neglected dogs, horses found at Liberty County home recovering

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -08/09/12)- Geoff Browne, chairman and chief executive of Liberty Silver Corp. (LSL.TO)(LBSV), issued the following open letter today to shareholders of Sennen Resources Ltd. (SN.V):

Dear Sennen Shareholder:

You will by now have seen the directors' circular issued by Sennen on July 30, 2012, in response to our offer to acquire all Sennen's shares.

While Sennen has repeatedly portrayed our offer as hostile, our first preference remains to conclude a friendly transaction that will benefit the shareholders of both Sennen and Liberty Silver. As we have said from the start, we believe there are compelling reasons for a combination of our two companies.

Your decision whether to accept our offer should be guided by two over-riding considerations:

We are confident that Liberty Silver meets the test on both counts.

Which board and management team deserves your trust?

- Sennen alleged in a press release dated July 27, 2012 that Liberty Silver initiated its offer "without any prior discussion with Sennen management, and consequently, without providing Sennen any prior opportunity to conduct meaningful due diligence on Liberty".

This is a self-serving version of the facts. Our advisors tried for weeks to set up a meeting with Sennen to discuss our proposal, and I tried on numerous occasions to make contact with Ian Rozier, Sennen's chief executive officer, prior to announcing the offer. Liberty Silver's directors and advisors have also tried, so far without success, to contact the Sennen special committee to discuss our offer.

The truth is that we have given Mr. Rozier and his fellow-directors ample opportunity to discuss our offer and conduct due diligence, but they have chosen not to do so. Liberty Silver remains open to negotiations and any due diligence that Sennen may wish to conduct.

Continued here:
Liberty Silver Corp: An Open Letter to Shareholders of Sennen Resources