Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Discontinued Operations

v2.4.0.8
Discontinued Operations
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2012
Discontinued Operations [Abstract]  
Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations, Disclosure [Text Block]
Discontinued Operations

As discussed in note 1, the Spin-Off was completed on January 11, 2013. At the time of the Spin-Off, Liberty owned all of its assets, businesses and liabilities except for Starz. This transaction has been accounted for at historical cost due to the pro rata nature of the distribution. Additionally, due to the short period between the end of the year and the distribution date Liberty did not record any results for Starz in discontinued operations for the statement of operations due to the insignificance of such amounts for that period except for the distribution of approximately $1.2 billion of cash from Starz prior to the distribution reflected in the consolidated statements of cash flows.

Following the Spin-Off, Liberty and Starz operate as separate, publicly traded companies, and neither has any stock ownership, beneficial or otherwise, in the other. As discussed in note 1, in connection with the Spin-Off, Liberty and Starz entered into certain agreements in order to govern certain of the ongoing relationships between the two companies after the Spin-Off and to provide for an orderly transition.

The consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes of Liberty have been prepared to reflect Starz as discontinued operations. Accordingly, the relevant financial statement balances and activities of the businesses, assets and liabilities owned by Starz at the time of Spin-Off (for periods prior to the Spin-Off) have been excluded from the respective captions in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, statements of operations, comprehensive earnings and cash flows in such consolidated financial statements.

Certain combined financial information for Starz, which is included in earnings (loss) from discontinued operations, is as follows:
 
 
Years ended December 31,
 
 
2012
 
2011
 
 
amounts in millions
Revenue
 
$
1,631

 
1,615

Earnings (loss) before income taxes
 
$
383

 
407











A summary of certain asset and liability amounts for Starz included in assets or liabilities of discontinued
operations, is as follows:
 
December 31, 2012
 
amounts in millions
Assets
 
Cash and cash equivalents
$
750

Trade and other receivables, net
$
261

Program rights, including current portion
$
679

 
 
Liabilities
 
Accrued liabilities
$
245

Debt, including current portion
$
540


Earnings per share impact of discontinued operations
The earnings per share from discontinued operations, discussed above, is as follows:
 
Years ended December 31,
 
2012
 
2011
Basic earnings (losses) from discontinued operations attributable to Liberty shareholders per common share (note 3):
 
Series A and Series B Liberty common stock
$
2.12

 
(0.31
)
Series A and Series B Liberty Starz common stock
NA

 
5.25

Diluted earnings (losses) from discontinued operations attributable to Liberty shareholders per common share (note 3):
 
 
 
Series A and Series B Liberty common stock
$
2.05

 
(0.31
)
Series A and Series B Liberty Starz common stock
NA

 
5.06