Liberty Interactive To Acquire HSN In a Deal With An Enterprise Value Of $2.6 Billion

Liberty Interactive Corp. said Thursday that it is acquiring the remaining 61.8% stake in HSN Inc. in a deal that equates to a total enterprise value of $2.6 billion. The acquisition is an all-stock transaction. HSN will become a wholly-owned subsidiary attributed to the QVC Group tracking stock. HSN Inc. consists of the multichannel retailer HSN and Cornerstone, a portfolio of home and apparel brands including Garnet Hill and Frontgate. After the deal closes, HSN headquarters will remain in St. Petersburg, FL, and QVC chief executive Mike George will remain in his position. HSN shareholders will receive fixed consideration of 1.65 shares of Series A QVC stock for every share of HSN stock. Liberty Interactive plans to issue 53.4 million shares of QVC Series A common stock. The acquisition is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2017. HSN shares are halted until 8:30 am ET, but are down 36.6% for the last year. Liberty Interactive shares are down 3.4% for the past 12 months. The S&P 500 index is up nearly 16% for the last year.