Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei to step down, John Malone taking interim charge
Greg Maffei (left) and John Malone
Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei is stepping down from his post at the end of the year, with chairman and billionaire investor John Malone assuming the CEO role on an interim basis.
The move comes as Liberty Media spins off most of its assets, except for Formula 1 and MotoGP, into a new separate, publicly listed company.
The new company, Liberty Live, will house Liberty Media’s interest in international ticketing giant Live Nation Entertainment and live sports and entertainment business Quint, among other assets.
Liberty Media will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market once the spin-off is complete, while Liberty Live will trade on the same market once it has officially been formed. The company said it expects the separation to be complete by the second half of 2025.
The move will “simplify” its capital structure and allow the two entities to be valued separately, it said.
Maffei’s departure is notable because he had been widely seen as the successor to 83-year-old Malone. During his 19-year tenure as CEO, Maffei was instrumental in building an empire spanning entertainment, sports, telecommunications and media.
From January 1, Maffei will move into a senior advisor role. Malone will hold the interim CEO post while the board and leadership team seek a permanent replacement.
Liberty also announced on Wednesday that it has reached an agreement to sell its broadband business, Liberty Broadband, to US telecoms giant Charter Communications in an all-stock deal.
Malone has significantly reshaped the Liberty portfolio over the past 12 months, including agreeing to acquire MotoGP in a deal valuing the motorbike racing organisation at around €4.2bn (US$4.5bn), spinning off audio broadcasting company SiriusXM into a separate company and selling All3Media, the production and distribution group it jointly owned with Warner Bros Discovery, for around £1.15bn (US$1.45bn) to private investment vehicle RedBird IMI.
