Liberty Global, the international cable arm of media giant Liberty Media, said Friday that its planned Dutch auction of its series-A and series-C stock was oversubscribed, with prices for the shares reaching the top of the company’s preset range.
Liberty Global announced in November that it would purchase the stock -- 5.1 million series-A shares at prices of $26.08-$29.50 and 5.2 million series-C shares at prices of $25.27-$28.59. According to a press release, the tender offers for both classes of stock were $29.50 and $28.59, respectively. Given those prices, the auction will cost Liberty Global just under $300 million.
In a Dutch auction, the price on a stock is lowered until it gets its first bid, and it is then sold at that price. The process differs from other auctions where large financial houses, acting as underwriters, set the price of the stock.
Liberty Global said in a prepared statement that it will announce the final results of the auction Jan. 10, with payment to be made promptly thereafter.
