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barry diller
iac
Humble Diller Not That Humble
Having escaped John Malone's hook, former studio boss and internet tycoon Barry Diller is attempting to reinvent himself, says Portfolio's Duff McDonald. The new Diller trademark? Humility. "We were kidding ourselves if we thought we could pull off an integrated conglomerate that acts like G.E. or P&G in anything less than 10, 20, or 30 years." Diller is indeed cutting internet conglomerate IAC down to a more manageable rump of web sites such as Ask, Citysearch and Evite. But the 65-year-old tycoon hasn't entirely lost his trademark vindictiveness. Doug Lebda—who sold Diller online mortgage search engine Lending Tree for $726m before the real-estate bubble burst—was prepared to buy the business back at a discount. Why hasn't that happened? "No one is allowed to school Diller twice," says a mogul watcher.
IAC's Summer Explosion
"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...Diller said he hopes to complete the spin-offs by August." [Post]
Barry Diller, John Malone May Kiss And Make Up
"Fresh off his legal victory over Liberty Media, IAC/InterActiveCorp boss Barry Diller is expected to meet with his board this week to restart the process of breaking up his company into five separate pieces, The Post has learned. At the same time, sources said Diller and Liberty Media Chairman John Malone are continuing to talk about a deal that would trade one or more of IAC's assets for Liberty's ownership stake in IAC." [Post]
moguls
Barry Diller Chooses Grandpa Font
So internet mogul Barry Diller won the struggle for control of IAC, the ungainly conglomerate which owns sites such as Ticketmaster and College Humor. Here's his celebratory announcement to employees. It's rather clunkier than one expects of the highly quotable IAC boss. Presumably Diller means, in the last line, that employees can have more confidence in the future; wishing IAC colleagues instead more surefootedness implies that IAC's missteps were somehow their fault. And some graphically-aware assistant really should help the 66-year-old former studio boss change his default email font.
quote of the day
Malone: "The hook is set. It is our company... Barry ain't going to be able to spit the hook."
Diller: "I sail. I don't fish. I got the point."
Barry Diller Gets The Point
The scene: two billionaires, former friends, are feuding over an internet conglomerate, IAC. John Malone's initial salvo comes in quotes given by the corporate assassin to the Wall Street Journal. Barry Diller, IAC's chairman, described his reaction in this week's court struggle for control of the sprawling internet company.Malone: "The hook is set. It is our company... Barry ain't going to be able to spit the hook."
Diller: "I sail. I don't fish. I got the point."
Barry Diller Does Not Appreciate Your Speaking Badly Of IAC
Barry Diller is still pissed at Greg Maffei, the Liberty Media executive who broke up his close relationship with Liberty Chairman John Malone. Here is how Diller began testimony in his court battle to retain control of IAC: "Mr. Maffei, 47 years old, was an 'irresponsible executive,' Mr. Diller testified in Delaware Chancery Court. 'For over a year and a half, he has spoken badly about our businesses and our managers,' said Mr. Diller, who is scheduled to continue his testimony today." [WSJ]
Barry Diller is still pissed at Greg Maffei, the Liberty Media executive who broke up his close relationship with Liberty Chairman John Malone. Here is how Diller began testimony in his court battle to retain control of IAC: "Mr. Maffei, 47 years old, was an 'irresponsible executive,' Mr. Diller testified in Delaware Chancery Court. 'For over a year and a half, he has spoken badly about our businesses and our managers,' said Mr. Diller, who is scheduled to continue his testimony today." [WSJ]
alex von furstenberg
Diller's Dynasty
Here's more evidence that Barry Diller sees the family of his companion, Diane von Furstenberg, as the dynasty the gay media mogul would never have otherwise had. The court battle over control of Diller's IAC has turned up an email in which Diller discussed a plan to seize voting control of the internet conglomerate. The recipient: not a business advisor, but sexy baldie Alex von Furstenberg, son of the fashion designer and likely heir to Diller's fortune.
To Paraphrase Clausewitz
For IAC's Barry Diller and his backer John Malone, the two billionaires wrestling for control of the internet conglomerate this week, a lawsuit is merely the continuation of negotiation by other means. A witness notes that the moguls are continuing settlement talks even as they trash each other in a Delaware court.
For IAC's Barry Diller and his backer John Malone, the two billionaires wrestling for control of the internet conglomerate this week, a lawsuit is merely the continuation of negotiation by other means. A witness notes that the moguls are continuing settlement talks even as they trash each other in a Delaware court.
iac
The Man Who Came Between Diller And Malone
Evil queen and IAC CEO Barry Diller used to get along great with his gruff sugar daddy John Malone of Liberty Media, making business dates and talking about deals together. Then Greg Maffei came along, from the kill-or-be-killed culture of software maker Oracle, and became Malone's new "point man." All of a sudden, "everything got much more contentious" between Malone and Diller, an IAC board member testified yesterday, in a trail where Diller and Malone are struggling for control of the company. Now Diller is just a spurned partner "looking for a divorce," Maffei said. [NYT, WSJ]
iac
Barry Diller's Fine Art
One expects flouncy Barry Diller, when he testifies in this week's court battle for control of IAC, will provide the colorful language which has kept journalists sweet for him for so many decades. But John Malone, the soulless corporate raider who is trying to seize the internet conglomerate from Diller, didn't do so badly himself today. The Coloradan billionaire told the Delaware court that the extravagant Diller, who decked out his office in IAC's Gehry-designed headquarters with fabulously expensive rugs, had made "a fine art" of his exploitation of the company jet.
barry diller
Barry Diller's Secret Weapon: Shopping
How will Barry Diller get John "Darth Vader" Malone to put down his light saber and end his fight for Diller-controlled internet conglomerate IAC? Shopping! According to the Wall Street Journal, evil queen Diller's approach focuses on cable shopping network HSN, and will go something like this: Come on, Johnny Death Star, it'll be fun! When I called you "insane" I meant "insane about a good sale!" HSN totally redid their interior, out with the shoddy gauche stuff and in with Sephora and Scoop NYC. They stock TONS of black, which I know is your favorite. What I think you'll like best is that the prices haven't even changed. If you act now, you can get the shopping network for the same low, low price I offered before — the rest of IAC, safely in my hands — and I'll throw in the extra 5 percent in quarterly sales HSN just posted at no additional charge. And if you call now, I'll also add the Nike champ I lured to run HSN. [WSJ]
translation
Barry Diller's Bravado
"If AOL came down in price to something ridiculous, we probably would look at it. I just doubt we have very much interest in it," says Barry Diller, announcing a loss at his internet conglomerate, IAC, which owns websites such as Ticketmaster and College Humor. Translation: Hogwash! It's touching that you reporters and analysts still pretend that I'm a big swinging mogul. I've got angry shareholders breathing down my neck, and I can barely retain control of my own company; there's no way I can handle another troubled business. In any case, the yacht needs new carpeting.
request for information
Barry Diller's Carpet
We don't resent the IAC billionaire's lavish lifestyle. If Diller wants to spend $200m on the world's largest sailing vessel, the 300-foot-long Eos, that's his business. "Once you're in boats, you either go bankrupt or you keep going," Diller told Lloyd Grove.The rumored $200,000 spent on silverware alone? Diller is 65 years old, and has worked hard all his life; he likes to entertain; so no judgment. But the tycoon's biggest backer, John Malone's Liberty Media, may not look so forgivingly on the expense of IAC's fancy headquarters. The Gehry-designed building on the Hudson waterfront of Manhattan, easily accessed by yacht, was quoted at a surprisingly modest $100m. But that was before decoration. We hear the fancy Italian carpeting of the IAC boss' office suite may have cost up to $1m. And I doubt Diller paid that out of his own pocket. IAC peons, or agents of Malone: what's the story? (After the jump, Diller explains his passion for big yachts: "It's not about size.") More »
Diller Being Polite
Barry Diller's IAC claims in filings that the internet conglomerate's largest shareholder, John Malone's Liberty Media, is trying to "cripple" its business. The Colorado billionaire, aka Darth Vader, is attempting a boardroom coup. Strong language, but we were hoping for something more colorful from the embattled mogul, who had called the corporate predator's effort "insane" and his claims "hogwash".
Barry Diller's IAC claims in filings that the internet conglomerate's largest shareholder, John Malone's Liberty Media, is trying to "cripple" its business. The Colorado billionaire, aka Darth Vader, is attempting a boardroom coup. Strong language, but we were hoping for something more colorful from the embattled mogul, who had called the corporate predator's effort "insane" and his claims "hogwash".
oped
Career Advice For Barry Diller
What should Barry Diller do? The IAC boss is being hung, slowly, by his largest shareholder. And for good reason: although online commerce and advertising is growing, the internet conglomerate has shrunk in value from $22bn to just over $7bn over five years. Barry Diller's reputation as a canny businessman, built up over decades in the movie and TV business, is tarnished. IAC has proven completely unable to build new businesses; and the New York group has had little success with the assets it bought. Let us count the fuckups. More »
barry diller
Evil Battle To The Death Joined, Insanely
It is really, truly war between dark media lord John Malone and his apprentice in evil, ruthless IAC queen Barry Diller. Malone has filed suit to remove Diller from a series of shell companies through which Diller maintains a stranglehold in IAC; he also alleged some sort of "misconduct." Diller, in turn, said the following: "I am beginning to think these people are insane. Everything they cite is hogwash." Those "insane" people Diller refers to control about 60 percent of his company, so it's safe to assume Diller will keep siphoning their profit into his paychecks and smashing his company into pieces that can't be taken from him. [Wall Street Journal]
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