Libert Media completes Atlanta Braves purchase

NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) Cable operator Liberty Media Corp. and media conglomerate Time Warner Inc. on Thursday said they had completed a roughly $1.5 billion deal to acquire the Atlanta Braves baseball team from Time Warner.

The complex deal calls for Liberty to pay about 68.5 million shares of Time Warner common stock, subject to a working capital adjustment, for a newly created unit of Time Warner, which holds the Atlanta Braves, Time Inc.'s LeisureArts, Inc. and $960 million of cash.

Based on Wednesday's closing price of $21.60, the deal was worth around $1.48 billion in stock. Major League Baseball has approved the transaction. The assets held by the acquired unit will be attributed to the Liberty Capital Group.

REUTERS DKS RS1704