
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 13, 1993                   TAG: 9307130140
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: PHILADELPHIA                                LENGTH: Medium

SHOPPING NETWORKS TO MERGE?

QVC Network Inc. proposed Monday to merge with its chief rival, the Home Shopping Network, in a stock swap that would create a powerhouse company to rule the fast-growing $2.5 billion-a-year home shopping industry.

If approved, the merger would position QVC as the industry giant in home shopping. And it would provide QVC chairman Barry Diller, who built Fox Inc. into the fourth television network, with the framework to create a fifth network, if he chose.

A deal to combine the two shopping networks has been anticipated for months. Liberty Media, which is a partner with Diller and Comcast Corp. in controlling QVC, also is the dominant shareholder in HSN.

"We believe the combination of companies will result in a streamlined, cohesive operation that will provide consumers with greater diversification of product, advanced services and superior convenience," Diller said in a statement. "It will ultimately push forward the entire evolution of electronic retailing."

Louise Cleary, spokeswoman for Home Shopping Network at the company's Clearwater, Fla. headquarters, said it is too soon to tell how the proposal might affect Home Shopping's warehouse and order-filling center at Salem. She said more details may be available after the HSN board studies the offer. QVC operates a similar facility in Suffolk. HSN has 5,000 employees, about 350 of them working in Salem, she said.

Analysts said the $1.2 billion stock swap, valued at Monday's stock prices, would let QVC offer a wider array of services and mix entertainment with shopping.

QVC, after the merger, will operate four TV home shopping channels - two previously owned by QVC and two owned by HSN - with combined revenues of more than $2 billion.

The deal hinges on the two companies working out a specific agreement, and on approvals from their boards and shareholders and from regulatory agencies.

QVC's stock rose $2.50 a share to $67.75 on Monday. Home Shopping's stock led the New York Stock Exchange's most-active list, rising $1 to $13.625 a share.

Staff writer Mag Poff contributed to this story.

by CNB