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Diller, Liberty Media Fight For IAC Control

Liberty Media Corp. Chairman John Malone plans to oust Barry Diller, head of the Web conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp. In response to Diller's announcement that IAC would break into five public entities, Malone has nominated a series of replacements for the IAC board. He also took steps to undermine a proxy agreement that allows Diller to vote Liberty's majority voting stake in the company. The proxy is seen as "essentially unbreakable" but yesterday Malone launched a legal maneuver to try to get around it.

The war between the media moguls was triggered last week when Diller announced that the proposed IAC spinoff would actually limit Liberty's control over the new companies. In response, Diller said, in a statement: "I am beginning to think these people are insane ... everything they cite is hogwash."

Over the past few years, tensions between Diller and Malone have risen as IAC's stock has underperformed; as a result, both parties began looking for ways to cut ties in the media partnership.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »

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