Liberty Media has announced that Greg Maffei will be its next chief executive officer, with the ex Microsoft chief executive officer taking up the position in the second quarter of 2006.
Commenting on the appointment, John Malone, founder and chairman and of the group, said: “Greg is well known and respected in the media and electronic commerce industries and has extensive deal experience in these areas. His new media experience combined with his financial expertise, leadership skills, and network of professional relationships make Greg an ideal candidate to take the reins at Liberty.”
He added: “I am confident Greg will prove a strong successor to Robert Bennett who has served Liberty and its shareholders so well for so many years.”
At the same time, Malone revealed a proposal to spilt Group in two in an attempt to boost the share price.
The break up of the group will see Liberty first creating a tracking stock for its shopping channel QVC as well as its other “interactive” assets, with the company called Liberty International.
The second change would see the remainder of the business spun off as “Liberty Interactive” in a couple of year’s time.
Malone also said that his goal was to “maximise the long-term value of the News Corp Holdings on an after-tax basis, but emphasised that proposals to change the US tax laws, meant that he was “cautious about charging ahead.”
Malone surprised investors last November by taking an option to increase his voting stake in News Corp to 18%, second only to the 29% held by the Murdoch family (see 3G Licence Prices To Drop By 90%).
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