Depending on what day, it varies from 43 to 49%. But, make no mistake, Malone controls the company through the original investment agreement.
The company can do virtually nothing without a supra-majority vote by the board, 4 out of 5, and Malone controls 2 seats, probably more covertly. If you read the agreement you'll see it almost gets down to the color of toilet paper TSXX can have in their washrooms.
VP Gore did not call Malone the, "Godfather of Telecommunications," for nothing. I don't know if you saw what he did to Time Warner in the Turner negotiations(Malone had a death grip on ALL of Turner's assets and Turner was a TCI board member), but he had them bent over a fence rail with their pants ripped down until a hew and cry went up from his own industry and cohorts, and the FCC intervened. I mean special rates for all Time Warner products for 2 decades, c'mon! That's even too much for me to stomach!
I'll say it again, ANTC better watch it, they are in negotiations with the devil. Of couse others might look at it as someone who could carry them to heights unimagined. Since the deal is not chiseled in stone, and the releases coming out seem designed to squeeze more juice out of an already salivating ANTC, I can only conclude that this deal has all the possiblity of growing sweeter as the days pass. At least that has been Malone's modus operandi for the years I have studied him.
There are people on this board that can confim that I would start talking about TSXX moving from AMEX to NASDAQ and get called crazy and a moron. When asked why they would do that and told that the company knows nothing about it, I would answer that, "that is what Malone does, and he also splits and splits and splits his stocks." 6 Months later TSXX moved to NASDAQ, 8 months later, TSXX split, after the move to NASDAQ, the company called me and admitted they were controlled by TCI, asked where some of TCI's corporate officers were so they could execute some daily operating decisions, and wanted to know what was coming next. "HEY!" Said I, "I don't work for you or TCI, I just think! Try it!"
The man is consistent. Why change what has worked is his rational I guess? Or like we said in the Service, "if it works, DON'T FIX IT!"
I'l give everyone here something as a way of a self introductory tip: Watch TUNE! Malone is buying it. I will say no more about it--period! Do your own work! |
