• by Wayne Friedman , March 31, 2008

It looks like Barry Diller doesn't need John Malone's pat on the back.

A Delaware Court has ruled that Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp's company doesn't need approval by major shareholder Liberty Media Corp, run by John Malone, for a proposed plan that would break up IAC into five distinct public trading units.

Liberty has 30% of the IAC shares--but 62% of IAC's key shareholder vote.

The news reported late on Friday sent late-traded shares of IAC up 7.37% to $22.00 in after-hours activity.

Liberty filed suit against IAC to take control of IAC's board in February, charging that IAC's spinoff attempt would dilute Liberty 's voting control over several of IAC's assets.

IAC's stock has been suffering for some time--trading near its 52-week low of $19.00.

But Diller believes splitting up the company will result in better value for shareholders. The five companies would be IAC, including such enterprises as Citysearch, Match.com, Ask.com and Evite; HSN; Ticketmaster; Interval International, which would include CondoDirect, Resort Quest Hawaii and VacationSource.com; and LendingTree.

The long-term relationship between Diller and Malone dates back to the mid-1990s. It was at that time that Malone began funding Diller's acquisition efforts to acquire TV stations, Home Shopping Network, and the QVC shopping network.