Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei Stepping Down as Company Spins Off Live Business
Written by djfrosty on November 13, 2024
Liberty Media signaled on Wednesday that longtime president and CEO Greg Maffei will step down at the end of the year, with chairman John Malone sliding in as interim CEO. Starting Jan. 1, Maffei will serve as a senior advisor for the company, aiding in the changeover amid a planned spin-off of its live entertainment assets into a new, publicly traded business.
Over his 19-year tenure, Maffei led Liberty Media through significant growth, investing in high-profile companies including the Charter Communications, Live Nation Entertainment, the Atlanta Braves, SiriusXM, Formula 1 and DirecTV. The company said that under Maffei’s leadership, Liberty’s composite value has enjoyed an annual growth rate of 17%.
Maffei has held numerous leadership roles across Liberty’s portfolio companies and, post-resignation, will remain as chairman of Qurate Retail, Liberty TripAdvisor, Tripadvisor and SiriusXM, and he’ll keep his director post at Charter, Live Nation and Zillow.
Trending on Billboard
In a statement, Malone commended Maffei’s impact, particularly his strategic vision that drove Liberty Media’s evolution and asset growth. Malone credited Maffei with establishing Liberty’s current streamlined structure and Maffei expressed gratitude for his nearly two decades at Liberty Media. “He has grown our asset base and made the company better and more valuable for shareholders, along the way overseeing as many as five separate public companies simultaneously,” said Malone.
The announcement of Maffei’s departure coincides with Liberty’s disclosed plans to spin off its Liberty Live Group — consisting of Liberty’s 30% stake in Live Nation and its minority interest in other companies like Kroenke Arena Company — into a separate public entity. Before the split, Liberty Media’s subsidiary Quint will be reattributed from its Formula One Group to the Liberty Live Group in exchange for private assets and cash consideration determined later. The company said the moves should simplify Liberty Media’s capital structure.
Post-split, expected to be finalized in the second half of 2025, Liberty Media will focus mostly on sports, while the newly formed Liberty Live will become a separate publicly traded company, ending Liberty Media’s tracking stock structure.
Earlier today, Charter Communications announced it will acquire Liberty Broadband in an all-stock transaction.
“Following today’s announcements at Liberty Media and Liberty Broadband, all the Liberty acquisitions completed during my tenure are now in structures where shareholders can have more direct ownership in their upside,” Maffei said. “The corporate structure is optimized, and the portfolio companies are in strong positions with talented executive teams in place. While it’s never easy to leave an organization as dynamic as Liberty, I am confident that this is the right time.”