July 6 (UPI) — The television shopping network QVC is buying its main competitor, the Home Shopping Network, for $2.1 billion in stock, company officials said.
QVC already owns a 39 percent share of HSN. The deal struck Thursday will give QVC full ownership of its competitor and the two companies will merge under the QVC brand, which will be spun off from its parent Liberty Interactive Corp. into its own company.
HSN shareholders will receive 1.65 shares of Class A QVC stock per one share of HSN. The deal values a share of HSN stock at $40.36, a 29 percent premium based on its price at the close of trading Wednesday, the companies said.
“The addition of HSN will enhance QVC’s position as the leading global video eCommerce retailer,” said Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Interactive. “Every year they together produce over 55,000 hours of shoppable video content.”
The deal is expected to be completed in the last quarter of 2017.
Though both networks have seen a decline in sales form their height in the 1990s, QVC, headquartered in West Chester, Pa., still had $8.7 billion in sales last year.
