Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 5, 1994 TAG: 9408050104
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: New York Daily News
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
After daylong deliberations, QVC's board of directors voted to accept a sweetened $2.3 billion cash offer from Comcast and Tele-Communications Inc.
That works out to $46 for each QVC share, up $2 from the first Comcast/TCI offer, made July 21.
The two cable operators already own about 35 percent of QVC's stock. They'll pay about $1.5 billion for the remainder.
QVC's stock closed up 3/4 to $44.75 in Nasdaq over-the-counter trading.
The closing of the sale is sure to mean the departure of Barry Diller, QVC's chairman, whose turbulent stint at the cable channel lasted 20 months.
Diller, who has a 12.5 percent voting stake in the company, stands to walk away with a $95 million profit from his QVC stock, including options.
When Diller arrived at QVC, its stock traded in the 20s.
Soon after, Diller tried to merge QVC with rival Home Shopping Network, a deal that was abandoned in part because of antitrust concerns.
Next, Diller made a hostile bid for Paramount - which sent QVC's shares soaring to $70.25 - but ultimately was foiled by Sumner Redstone's Viacom Inc.
Finally, Diller tried to merge QVC into CBS, but that plan was sabotaged when Comcast announced its initial bid for QVC last month.
Although Diller reportedly contemplated staging his own QVC buyout, he was unable to find adequate backing, one analyst said.
``Diller did as well as he could for himself and the shareholders,'' said Alvin Mirman of Commonwealth Associates.
``But to some degree, his hands were tied because of his earlier, failed deals.''
by CNB