Liberty Interactive to issue QVC shares

Linda Loyd, Inquirer Staff Writer Last updated: Friday, October 11, 2013, 2:01 AM Posted: Thursday, October 10, 2013, 5:18 PM

The success of West Chester-based QVC Inc. led its parent company, Liberty Interactive Corp., to announce Thursday that it would give the e-commerce retailer and cable shopping business its own "tracking stock."

Englewood, Colo.-based Liberty said it was making the change "intended to provide greater clarity regarding QVC's strong operating metrics, such as its leadership in mobile commerce and pioneering efforts in establishing social shopping platforms for its customers."

A tracking stock is issued by a parent company to follow the performance of a specific division.

Liberty Interactive operates and owns interests in a broad range of digital commerce businesses now represented by two stocks: Liberty Interactive Group and Liberty Ventures Group.

Liberty's other e-commerce companies, including the digital invitation site Evite, would be part of a new Liberty Digital Commerce stock.

"It's a good move because sometimes the complexity of the Liberty stocks causes them to trade at a discount to their true value," said Tom Forte, Internet analyst with Telsey Advisory Group in New York.

Liberty Interactive also announced it would spin off its stake in travel website TripAdvisor Inc. and online retailer BuySeasons into a new publicly-traded company called Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings.

QVC was founded in 1986 and ranks among the top online merchandise retailers, with $8.5 billion in revenue in 2012. QVC was named by founder Joseph Segel for three guiding principles: Quality, Value, and Convenience.

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Liberty Interactive to issue QVC shares