Liberty Takes Quarter Stake In LN

Liberty Media now holds more than 25 percent of the outstanding shares of Live Nation Entertainment with 48.7 million shares, according to a May 15 filing.

The company, headed by LNE director John Malone, filed its intention to acquire 9.5 million shares with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Liberty said it had received SEC clearance a week earlier to acquire as much as 35 percent of Live Nation. The company’s current market cap is $1.8 billion.

The purchase is described as an “attractive investment” in the SEC filing, and Liberty CEO Greg Maffei told analysts last week that despite LNE being a “business in transition … the long-term durability we think is good,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

In a separate move, Liberty is attempting to gain control of satellite broadcaster Sirius XM Radio, of which Liberty now controls 46.2 percent of preferred shares, the paper reported.