QVC parent buying Home Shopping Network in $2.6 billion stock deal

QVC’s parent company will buy the rest of St. Petersburg-based Home Shopping Network for about $2.6 billion in a stock deal, combining two of the most well-known home-shopping hubs.

The buyout comes amid aggressive growth by Amazon.com Inc. as consumer shopping habits continue shifting to internet-based retail.

HSN has 6,000 employees, with 2,500 in St. Petersburg, and ranks among Tampa Bay’s largest public companies, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Liberty Interactive Corp., which owns QVC, will issue 53.4 million shares of QVC Series A common stock to HSN shareholders. It said Thursday that’s the equivalent of paying $40.36 per share for HSN Inc., marking a 29 percent premium to the stock.

Liberty, based in Englewood, Colorado, already owns 38 percent of HSN. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

This story was originally published July 6, 2017 at 10:20 AM with the headline "QVC parent buying Home Shopping Network in $2.6 billion stock deal."