News Corp., Liberty complete swap

February 28, 2008 News Corp. and Liberty Media Wednesday completed a long-awaited swap that gives Liberty control of DirecTV and amounts to a $10.1 billion stock buyback for News, the largest in its history. Liberty chairman John Malone and CEO Greg Maffei have been appointed to the satellite TV giant's board, filling two of the three seats previously held by News Corp. representatives, most likely News president and COO Peter Chernin and CFO David DeVoe. Under the deal, Liberty is swapping its 16% stake in News Corp. for a controlling 41% stake in DirecTV, three regional sports networks - FSN Northwest, FSN Pittsburgh and FSN Rocky Mountain - and approximately $625 million in cash.

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