Now the cable cowboy’s Liberty Media (FWONA.O) empire is trotting out its trademark financial razzle-dazzle to try and wring additional value out of its assets.
Malone, Liberty Media’s chairman, is as renowned for his dizzying array of specialized equity issues, spinoffs and splits as he is for the telecom and entertainment companies that have been subjected to the intricate machinations.
It excludes broadcaster Discovery, spun off from Liberty Media in 2005, and international broadband provider Liberty Global (LBTYA.O), hived off a year earlier.
A more logical starting point would be 2001, when Malone carved Liberty Media out of telecom giant AT&T (T.N).
Likewise, Liberty Media’s accompanying shakeup of its tracking stocks stands to further spotlight the value of Formula One.