Last time: When Worldspace defaulted on its debt, meaning, it did not have the funds available to pay off it’s bondholders, the bondholders had the right to effectively seize the assets that were promised as collateral for the original loan. Liberty stepped into that situation, and purchased the “bad debt” from the existing bondholders. Thus the assets guaranteeing the defaulted bonds, became the property of what is now, Liberty Radio. Liberty Radio is the subsidiary of Liberty Media that also owns most of the Sirius XM stake. The only thing that Worldspace has going for it, is that it’s name is recognized globally. In India especially, the is a big demand to bring back Worldspace. It may offer the better name recognition in North Africa and Europe against late starter Ondas Media, from a competitive standpoint, also.
I don’ know much more than what you could find on Google, and I say that only because I will keep looking for more information long after you would give up. Hypothetically, let’s say that Worldspace had managed to secure an exclusive broadcast license in India that guaranteed no other satellite radio licenses would be given out, and all the bandwidth to deploy such services was purchased for a handful of magic beans. It would then be in Liberty’s best interest of course to continue holding the name simply because it now carries with it substantial POTENTIAL value. Such value would not be realized until a decision was made to redeploy the Worldspace service under the brand name.
Remember, this is hypothetical. Flash forward to the redeployment ...
Thanks for update. But I still have one question Brandon. Is the new ticker symbol for Liberty Media which appears to be holding all the cards with Sirius LMCA? With all the changes I want to be sure and am having trouble, along with many others, in being sure of the right ticker for Liberty.
yes and no…the way liberty moves things around and you have to watch the ball…three card monte…you have watch the filings to know where the stakes are right lmca has em
Ok. Thanks.
The most confusing thing is that Worldspace is still trading. Is there any potential reason that the company must still be active? What about those 2 billion in NOL’s? Is there any hint of possibility here? Anybody have any ideas? Is Worldspace worth the gamble with even pocket change? Somebody please hit me with something other than the “established brand” scenario.
Google quote does not have LMCA, but I bought LMCA at Fidelity. There is also something with LMCAD. So maybe it takes a day or two to adjust.
Google Fiance shows: Liberty Media Corp(LMCAD). Looks like it’s only been publicly trades since January 11, 2013. Looks to me that LMCAD is the correct ticker symbol.
Description
Liberty Media Corporation, formerly Liberty Spinco, Inc., incorporated on August 10, 2012, focuses on the media, communications and entertainment industries through its ownership of interests in subsidiaries and other companies. Its businesses and assets include consolidated subsidiaries, Atlanta National League Baseball Club, Inc. and TruePosition, Inc., its equity affiliates Sirius XM Radio Inc. and Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. and minority investments in public companies such as Barnes & Noble, Inc., Time Warner Inc., Time Warner Cable, Inc., Viacom Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corporation. On January 11, 2013, Liberty Media Corporation and Starz announced the completion of the spin-off of Liberty from Starz. In connection with the spin-off, Liberty changed its name from Liberty Spinco, Inc. to Liberty Media Corporation. In January 2013, the Company announced that it held approximately 50.7% interest of Sirius XM Radio Inc.
Lots of great possibilities outlined in your recent articles! Do you think that the satellite launch that was postponed until this year may have been programmed to “communicate” with the Worldspace birds, thus allowing content to be sent via our current sats. This scenario would save hundreds of millions in launch and new sat fees if possible. Wow, possibilities could be endless. Lots of great things to think about. Thanks BM, keep em’ coming!