A legal Class Action against John Malone’s Liberty Media is now underway in a Delaware courtroom. The argument alleges that Malone and his family gained a $160m advantage that was not shared with other shareholders.

The action alleges that Liberty Media chairman John Malone (and his wife) constructed a more attractive deal for themselves when their company ‘merged’ with D*recTV. The Class Action complaints argue that Malone, in getting ‘super voting shares’ worth 15 ‘standard’ shares, thus disenfranchised existing shareholders.

Lead plaintiff Blackthorn Partners is the largest public shareholder of Liberty Media, with 110,816 of the company's 1.8 million shares. Blackthorn says it and other public shareholders represent 2.6% of the eligible aggregate vote. The Class Action represents "a diverse and disaggregated group of small stakeholders unlikely to mount a concerted opposition or, for that matter, to understand fully the complicated deal structure" that gave directors an unfair advantage, according to the complaint, and as reported by Courthouse News Service.


"Malone has been paid handsomely to augment his control over valuable assets and to position himself to capitalize on a future transaction, free from a premium cap and any concern over other, super-voting shareholders," according to the complaint. "None of this valuable consideration, negotiated by Malone for Malone with the passive (if not active) assistance of directors whose future and fortunes are inextricably intertwined with Malone's, was shared with the LMDIB public shareholders who had no one representing their interests at the deal table," according to the complaint.

About John C. Malone:

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