Minyanville has an article analyzing Liberty Media Corp (Capital) (NASDAQ:LCAPA) on a sum-of-the-parts basis:
The key for investors: Liberty Capital stock trades at a 58% discount to the value of all the assets that back it. The stock recently sold for $48 [now $45], but the collection of assets it represents add up to $82 after debt, according to Robert Routh a media analyst with Wedge Partners.
What does a share of LCAPA represent?
As a tracking stock, Liberty Capital represents the value of the stock holdings of its parent Liberty Media in Sirius XM Radio, Time Warner Cable (TWC), Time Warner (TWX), Sprint Nextel (S), Viacom (VIA), Motorola (MOT), AOL (AOL), Live Nation Entertainment (LYV), and CenturyLink (CTL). All of this plus a few other stocks and the value of some media assets recently added up to $107 per share for Liberty Capital, calculates Routh, who regularly makes some great calls on media stocks. Subtract around $25 in debt, and you get an enterprise value of around $82 for Liberty Capital. That’s the tracking stock that sells for just $48.
Why the discount?
First of all, a lot of mutual funds cannot own tracking stocks, which reduces demand for the Liberty Capital tracker. Second, Liberty Capital is saddled with a “complexity discount” — meaning the situation is so confusing many investors just avoid it. Plus, there’s no guarantee the discount will ever go away.
Any catalysts?
For buy-and-hold investors, what might make that happen? One catalyst will be ongoing share buybacks, believes Scott Stevens of Strata Capital Management, which owns the Liberty Capital tracking stock. Stevens is worth listening to because Strata Capital Management was up 11.1% year-to-date net of fees as of August 17, compared to a 2% decline for the S&P 500. Next, believes Stevens, Liberty Capital has over $2 billion in cash, and it might use some of for an accretive acquisition
And eventually, Liberty Capital should be converted from a tracking stock to a regular asset-backed common stock, which would help the complexity discount go away. Malone should get the ball rolling on this front when he converts another stock tracking assets in the Liberty Media parent company. That tracker is Liberty Media Interactive (LINTA) which represents the Liberty Media’s home-shopping channel QVC and a stake in Home Shopping Network.
The conversion should happen around the end of this year or in the first quarter of 2011. That alone might wake other investors to the potential in Liberty Capital because it’s on the same track, and put a bid underneath the stock. A third Liberty Media tracker will also be converted at some point, or Liberty Starz Group (LSTZA) which represents Liberty Media’s Starz Encore pay TV channel. Another catalyst might be the sale of the Atlanta Braves by the end of 2011.
Nop positions.
Has there been any time in the last 15 years that Liberty hasn’t been undervalued? It’s a perpetual valuation buy.
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I have a question, ¿why the article mentions $25 of debt? ¿is this a proper number?
I see that the total liabilities attributed to Liberty Capital are around $68, ¿shouldnt this figure be used to calculate value?
Probably im missing something, can you helpe understanding what?
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Don’t forget Starz Media is housed in LCAPA … during the LINTA split-off conference call, management (Greg Maffei)hinted that Starz Media could potentially be viewed as a “non-strategic asset” in the future (i.e., could be put up for sale), another catalyst for LCAPA.
IMO, TWX could be a buyer of Starz Media, and thus bring Starz head Chris Albrecht (who used to head HBO) back into the TWX family … Bewkes is certainly a fan of Albrecht …
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I think both Capital and Starz will still be tracking stocks only tracking the Newco. Liberty Interactive will be the regular asset-backed common stock. See below.
http://ir.libertymedia.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=61138&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1439861&highlight=
“The proposed split-off will be effected by the redemption of all the outstanding shares of Liberty Capital tracking stock and Liberty Starz tracking stock in exchange for shares in a newly formed company (“Newco”). Newco will hold substantially all the assets and be subject to substantially all the liabilities currently attributed to the Liberty Capital and Liberty Starz tracking stock groups. The common stock of Newco will be divided into two tracking stock groups, one tracking assets that are currently attributed to the Liberty Capital group (“Newco Capital”) and the other tracking assets that are currently attributed to the Liberty Starz group (“Newco Starz”). In the redemption, holders of Liberty Capital tracking stock will receive shares of Newco Capital tracking stock and holders of Liberty Starz tracking stock will receive shares of Newco Starz tracking stock. After the redemption, Newco and Liberty will be separate public companies.”
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