Key facts
- Liberty Media acquired all high-vote Series B shares held by the Malone Holders for Series A and Series C stock.
- The Malone Holders had owned about 2.3 million Series B shares, about 97% of that class, Liberty Media said.
- Liberty Media said the transaction followed unsolicited third-party offers for the Series B shares.
- No single shareholder now owns more than 9% of Liberty Media's voting power, the company said.
- Malone said the transaction lets him increase his economic ownership while distributing voting power more broadly.
Liberty Media said on November 5, 2026 that it had cut the voting power of entities tied to billionaire John Malone to about 3% from roughly 48%, and that Malone would step down from the chairman emeritus role. The Formula 1 owner said Malone, a cable TV pioneer, will remain a senior adviser. Shares of the company rose 9%, according to Reuters.
The company said it acquired all of the high-vote Series B common shares held by the entities, known as the Malone Holders, in exchange for shares of its low-vote Series A and non-voting Series C common stock. The transaction followed unsolicited offers from third parties for the Series B shares, Liberty Media said.
Liberty Media said the Malone Holders had owned about 2.3 million Series B shares, representing about 97% of the outstanding shares of that class. The company said the transaction eliminates the possibility of a transfer of the Malone Holders' voting power to a third party and better aligns Malone's voting power with his economic ownership of Liberty Media.
No single shareholder owns more than 9% of the company's voting power now, Liberty Media said. Malone said: "The Transaction allows me to increase my economic ownership of Liberty Media while distributing voting power more broadly among Liberty Media's other shareholders."
Liberty Media also adopted a shareholder rights plan to reduce the likelihood of any entity accumulating significant voting power without board review, it said.