For a long time Rupert Murdoch has wanted to get his hands back on Liberty Media's (LCAPA) 19% stake in News Corp. (NWS). Evidently he has offered News Corp.'s 38 percent stake in DirecTV (DTV) in exchange for the stock. Liberty's stake in News Corp. is around $9.9 billion while News Corp.s stake in DirecTV is about $9 billion.
With Murdoch wanting to get out of the satellite business and Liberty Media Holding Chairman John Malone wanting to get in, this has a good possibility of happening.
Liberty Media Chief Executive Greg Maffei confirmed that "we continue to have a dialogue with News Corp...we're optimistic that something can be worked out."
Jessica Reif Cohen, a Merrill Lynch media analyst, added that in order for the deal to be tax free, News Corp. would have to offer a business that it has specifically owned and operated for a minimum of five years, and be 5% part of the overall transaction.
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