IAC/InterActiveCorp boss Barry Diller is pushing ahead with plans to break up his company into five separate businesses, and downplaying talk about a possible asset swap with Liberty Media.
In a first-quarter earnings call with analysts yesterday, Diller said he hopes to complete the spin-offs by August and dismissed the idea of a swap deal to satisfy Liberty, whose voting control of IAC’s units would be cut in half in the break-up.
“The potential for such a deal exists just by the nature of our relationship, but I think it is very unlikely that one will occur,” he said.
Sources told The Post earlier this week that Diller and Liberty Chairman John Malone are continuing to talk about such a deal, and that the two are hopeful that they can agree to terms on an asset-swap.
Diller also tempered expectations on the likelihood that private-equity firms will invest in IAC units ahead of the spin-offs.