Liberty, IAC end legal battle

Agreement allows division of IAC

By Georg Szalai

May 13, 2008, 05:33 PM ET

John Malone's Liberty Media and Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp. have ended a protracted legal battle, unveiling Tuesday afternoon an agreement covering the planned split of IAC into five entities and their governance setup. Among other things, Liberty agreed to restrictions on its ability to boost its stakes in the spun-off firms.

"Now it's really over, and that's great for both of us," said IAC chairman and CEO Diller.

"I am pleased that we were able to amicably resolve our dispute with IAC," said Liberty chairman Malone. "Liberty supports the proposed restructuring of IAC and looks forward to the ongoing success of each of the new entities and IAC."

Under the deal, Liberty agreed to drop its appeal of a late March court decision in the two companies' legal showdown and will not oppose the proposed spinoffs of HSN, Interval International, Ticketmaster and Lending Tree from IAC.

IAC moved those forward Tuesday via initial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The settlement also covers the governance of the newly created companies, including Liberty's board representation, and includes a standstill agreement that limits Liberty's ability to increase its ownership stakes and similar actions.

The companies said additional details will be released in regulatory filings.

Liberty, IAC end legal battle

Agreement allows division of IAC

By Georg Szalai

May 13, 2008, 05:33 PM ET

John Malone's Liberty Media and Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp. have ended a protracted legal battle, unveiling Tuesday afternoon an agreement covering the planned split of IAC into five entities and their governance setup. Among other things, Liberty agreed to restrictions on its ability to boost its stakes in the spun-off firms.

"Now it's really over, and that's great for both of us," said IAC chairman and CEO Diller.

"I am pleased that we were able to amicably resolve our dispute with IAC," said Liberty chairman Malone. "Liberty supports the proposed restructuring of IAC and looks forward to the ongoing success of each of the new entities and IAC."

Under the deal, Liberty agreed to drop its appeal of a late March court decision in the two companies' legal showdown and will not oppose the proposed spinoffs of HSN, Interval International, Ticketmaster and Lending Tree from IAC.

IAC moved those forward Tuesday via initial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The settlement also covers the governance of the newly created companies, including Liberty's board representation, and includes a standstill agreement that limits Liberty's ability to increase its ownership stakes and similar actions.

The companies said additional details will be released in regulatory filings.
 


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