Liberty Media to Buy Stake in Radio Company

AT&T; Corp.’s Liberty Media Group, a cable-television programming company run by John Malone, agreed to buy a 14% stake in Emmis Communications Corp. for $150 million, its first radio broadcasting investment.

Liberty Media would buy 2.7 million shares of Indianapolis-based Emmis’ Class A stock at about $55.56 each, about 1.7% less than Friday’s closing price. The purchase would make Liberty Media the No. 2 shareholder behind Emmis Chief Executive Jeff Smulyan, who owned 69% of the combined voting power of all classes of stock as of Aug. 31.

Emmis, which owns or operates 16 radio stations in cities from Los Angeles to New York, will use the money to acquire radio stations in large markets. Liberty Media is buying stakes in companies that can speed delivery and boost demand for its information, entertainment and Internet services.

Emmis shares rose $6.81, or 12%, to $63.31 Monday in Nasdaq trading. The stock has almost doubled in the last year.

Liberty Media shares fell 63 cents to $36.88 on the New York Stock Exchange.