Liberty Media (News Corp largest shareholder) buys Braves

I'm just beside myself.  As an avid Braves fan and Season Ticket holder since 1991 (the "Worst to First" season), I don't know if I'll be able to take Bill O'Leilly "cheering" on the Braves.

The article on the Braves site says:

ATLANTA -- After a year of negotiations, it appears Liberty Media Corp. has agreed to terms on a deal to purchase the Braves from Time Warner Inc.

By Monday night, The Wall Street Journal and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution had both reported that they received confirmation of the deal.

More below the fold.

When first reporting the transaction, The Wall Street Journal indicated that Time Warner would transfer the Braves, a selection of craft magazines and $1 billion in cash to Liberty Media in exchange for 60 million shares of Time Warner stock.

So, there's big bucks included here.  But, what happened to the Ted Turners?  What happened to hometown owners who cared about the team and the city?  It seems like Liberty is only interested in avoiding taxes.  

Because of a new federal tax law, Liberty Media wants to complete the deal by the middle of May. According to a Braves source, not doing so could cost Liberty hundreds of millions of dollars.

According to the Journal-Constitution report, inclusion of an operating asset -- the Braves -- in the deal can make the transaction tax-free. This would allow Liberty to save hundreds of millions of dollars in capital gains tax on the appreciation of its Time Warner stock.

There they go again!  That "capital gains tax" problem.  As the largest shareholder of News Corporation (owner of FOX and the war thumpers in their midst) shouldn't Liberty want to pay taxes to support their war?  But no...it seems they want to boost the war through FOX, not help pay for it.

Just to make it clear about Liberty Media:

It was spun-off from AT&T in the second half of 2001, subsequently spending $5 billion on nine German regional cable networks. Apart from television distribution it holds major interests in other groups. For example it is the largest shareholder in News Corporation (though the founding Murdoch family owns more voting shares), and has a 4 % stake in Time Warner. As of December 2003 it has never paid a dividend.

News Corporation is just one of Liberty Media's many holdings.  They also have interests in Court TV, Discovery, E, QVC, and other media properties.

Discuss.  And make me feel better if you can.  

Maybe I'm overreacting and it's just a good business decision for both Liberty Media and the Braves.  Maybe News Corporation is a minor player in the Liberty Media family. Maybe Liberty Media is a good corporate citizen and they don't have anything to do with the politics of News Corporation and FOX.  

I love baseball and I hate to see it "corporatized" any further.