US mass media company Liberty Media has unveiled a recapitalisation plan that will lead to investors being able to buy shares in Atlanta Braves, the Major League Baseball franchise it owns.
Liberty, which holds a range of media and entertainment assets, will pursue a reclassification of its common stock into three new tracking stock groups: one to be designated as the Liberty Braves Group, one to be designated as the Liberty Media Group and one to be designated as the Liberty Sirius Group.
Liberty intends to attribute to the Liberty Braves Group its subsidiary the Braves Holdings, which indirectly owns the Atlanta Braves and certain assets and liabilities associated with the new SunTrust Park stadium and adjacent mixed-use development in Cobb County.
Liberty intends to attribute to the Liberty Sirius Group its subsidiary, radio broadcasting group Sirius XM Holdings. Liberty Media Group will contain all of the businesses, assets and liabilities of Liberty other than those specifically attributed to the other two groups, including Liberty’s interests in live-event company Live Nation Entertainment and minority equity investments in media groups Time Warner and Viacom.
Liberty will continue to control the Braves under the plan, but the new stock – which is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange in the first half of 2016 – will make the Braves one of the few sports franchises with publicly-listed shares permitting direct investment.
“We expect this recapitalisation to highlight each tracking stock group's operations, and the financial performance of its attributed assets, provide greater investor choice, and enable targeted capital raising while maintaining an optimal capital structure for Liberty,” Greg Maffei, Liberty president and chief executive, said.
The plans are subject to the approval of Liberty Media shareholders and other conditions.