Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Investments In Available-For-Sale Securities And Other Cost Investments

v2.4.1.9
Investments In Available-For-Sale Securities And Other Cost Investments
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Investments in Available-for-Sale Securities and Other Cost Investments [Abstract]  
Investments in Available-for-Sale Securities and Other Cost Investments

(7)   Investments in Available-for-Sale Securities and Other Cost Investments

 

All marketable equity and debt securities held by the Company are classified as available-for-sale ("AFS") and are carried at fair value generally based on quoted market prices. GAAP permits entities to choose to measure many financial instruments, such as AFS securities, and certain other items at fair value and to recognize the changes in fair value of such instruments in the entity's statement of operations. The Company previously had entered into economic hedges for certain of its non-strategic AFS securities (although such instruments were not accounted for as fair value hedges by the Company). Changes in the fair value of those economic hedges were reflected in the Company's statement of operations as unrealized gains (losses). In order to better match the changes in fair value of the subject AFS securities and the changes in fair value of the corresponding economic hedges in the Company's financial statements, the Company has elected to account for those of its AFS securities which it considers to be non-strategic ("Fair Value Option Securities") at fair value. Accordingly, changes in the fair value of Fair Value Option Securities, as determined by quoted market prices, are reported in realized and unrealized gains (losses) on financial instruments in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

 

Investments in AFS securities, including Fair Value Option Securities separately aggregated, and other cost investments are summarized as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

December 31, 2014

   

December 31, 2013

 

 

 

amounts in millions

 

Fair Value Option Securities

    

 

 

    

    

 

Time Warner Inc. (a)

 

$

363 

 

297 

 

Time Warner Cable (a)(b)

 

 

 —

 

320 

 

Viacom, Inc. (a)

 

 

273 

 

317 

 

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (c)

 

 

27 

 

255 

 

Other equity securities

 

 

55 

 

37 

 

Other debt securities

 

 

27 

 

27 

 

Total Fair Value Option Securities

 

 

745 

 

1,253 

 

AFS and cost investments

 

 

 

 

 

 

Live Nation debt securities

 

 

24 

 

24 

 

Other AFS and cost investments

 

 

47 

 

47 

 

Total AFS and cost investments

 

 

71 

 

71 

 

 

 

$

816 

 

1,324 

 


(a)

See note 10 for details regarding the number and fair value of shares pledged as collateral pursuant to certain margin loan agreements as of December 31, 2014 and 2013.

(b)

As discussed in note 1, Liberty’s former investment in Time Warner Cable was spun off to stockholders as part of the Broadband Spin-Off, which was completed on November 4, 2014.

(c)

In April 2014 Liberty reduced its overall ownership interest in Barnes & Noble, Inc. to less than 2% through the sale of approximately 90% of the preferred stock held by Liberty as of such date for $247 million in proceeds.

 

Unrealized Holding Gains and Losses

 

Unrealized holding gains and losses related to investments in AFS securities are summarized below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 31, 2014

 

December 31, 2013

 

 

    

Equity

    

Debt

    

Equity

    

Debt

 

 

 

securities

 

securities

 

securities

 

securities

 

 

 

amounts in millions

 

Gross unrealized holding gains

    

$

 —

    

 —

    

    

 

Gross unrealized holding losses

 

$

 —

 

 —

 

 

 

 

Liberty reclassified approximately $40 million of pre-tax previously unrealized gains in the consolidated statement of operations in gains (losses) on transactions, net during the year ended December 31, 2013 due to the application of purchase accounting and the effective settlement of SIRIUS XM debt securities previously accounted for as available-for-sale securities through other comprehensive earnings (loss).