John Malone Deals Himself Out At DirecTV

[Scott Greczkowski]

Sometimes even a wheeler-dealer like John Malone outsmarts himself. That’s seems to be the situation at DirectTV. (DTV), where the razor sharp media baron seems to have dealt himself out of installing his own choice as CEO of the satellite TV giant despite once owning 57% of the company’s stock. Instead, he controls 24% of the company’s votes, but seems to have been bottled up by a very independent DirecTV board.

Those are the details that are emerging from a recent SEC filing by DirecTV. The satellite company clearly wanted to stop Malone, who buys and sells companies faster than most people change socks, from exerting too much control over the company. So in what has to have been a wing ding of negotiations, the DirecTV board swapped the DirecTV stake that Malone’s Liberty Media (LMDIA) once held for shares in DirecTV that Liberty will distribute to its shareholders. In addition, DirecTV took a $2 billion loan off Liberty’s hands that it used to buy those shares in the first place, but took Liberty’s 65% stake in the Game Show network and three Fox Sports regional networks. Malone got super-voting shares that are capped at 24% of the company’s voting shares.

What motivated DirecTV’s board to do the deal? They were angling for “the elimination of a single shareholder …with the ability to veto change of control provisions,” the company said in its SEC filing. More important, the board wanted to “reduce the level of influence that Malone could exert,” they added. Anyone need more of a roadmap than that?

Read the rest at John Malone Deals Himself Out At DirecTV - BusinessWeek

 

[grydlok]

Huh?

 

[sddtvtech]

/\ ditto.

 

[Rey]

So is malone on the way out???? i hope so!!!

 

[Ramy]

So is malone on the way out???? i hope so!!!

Me too. :up

 

[Greg Bimson]

So Malone now controls less than a quarter of DirecTV. In return, DirecTV is fairly independent, with some programming inherited from the three regional Fox Sports nets and a new debtload of $2 billion.

Interesting times ahead.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

The less control Malone has over D*'s day to day operations and decisions, the better.

I feel D* is suffering from a lack of visionary leadership.

 

[deathmetal]

great news,D* gets a stay of execution,lets see if we see any shift in direction in the next few months.if its status quo after the last week of football,i'm putting the needle in.

 

[stonecold]

That is why I need you all to write to Directv requesting I become it next ceo

 

[sddtvtech]

That is why I need you all to write to Directv requesting I become it next ceo

can i have holidays off?

 

[stonecold]

Yes on a rotation wiht other techs, but No more pay per job , it pay per hour and you can as long as you get 4 jobs done a day on average per month...

 

[sddtvtech]

okay i will vote.. if you had said no, you gotta work holdays so i can get pocket money for my ex-wife's court settlement on the divorce.. i wouldnt vote for you.

 

[stonecold]

We all have to work holidays at some point it only fair we do rotations. But no installs on Major US Holidays... People dont need to working Thanksgiving Christmas , Easter , 4th of july , New years, all the other holidays are on rotation.

I am a big beliver in pay per hour as long as the techs can try to maintain a fairly nomral average work load. aka doing 1 job a day for a month your gong to be slapped down to pay per job.

 

[sddtvtech]

We all have to work holidays at some point it only fair we do rotations. But no installs on Major US Holidays... People dont need to working Thanksgiving Christmas , Easter , 4th of july , New years, all the other holidays are on rotation.

I am a big beliver in pay per hour as long as the techs can try to maintain a fairly nomral average work load. aka doing 1 job a day for a month your gong to be slapped down to pay per job.

oh i dont have a problem with working some holidays like st patrick day.


but what if the job load slows like how it is now? i got 1 job monday, 2 jobs tues, 1 job today, 3 tmr.. i mean it isnt exactly busy

 

[stonecold]

oh i dont have a problem with working some holidays like st patrick day.


but what if the job load slows like how it is now? i got 1 job monday, 2 jobs tues, 1 job today, 3 tmr.. i mean it isnt exactly busy

Obviously if it is slow work month no big deal.

But lets say dtv gave you regullar 3 - 4 jobs to do a day and you only get 1 done.

I should put it another way Total number of jobs given / versus number completed in a month. if the ratio is too far off then back to pay per job for that person.

As I said it before Techs get the worst screw job out of any of us.

 

[Jimbo]

This is the way we do it at work as well, it's "Good jobs in 8"
We are suppose to get 4 jobs done in 8 hrs on an avg.

 

[goaliebob99]

Sounds like the board is not liking how malone is running the company, and who can blame them? If I was a board member I too would be hot!

 

[stonecold]

I mean Larry Hunter is acting CEO I have not seen much from him. But I know if I could ever get anyone to listen this company would be back at number #1 for customer statifaction. Or I would give up my paycheck till we were.