QVC owner to acquire Zulily for $2.4 billion

Media mogul John Malone’s Liberty Interactive Corp said it would acquire Zulily Inc in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $2.4 billion to tap into the online retailer’s younger clientele and its strong mobile presence.

Zulily went public in November 2013 after selling shares at $22 apiece.

The price comes to $18.75 a share, 49 percent higher than Friday’s closing price.

In May, the same month that the company cut its sales outlook for the year, Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba disclosed that it had taken a 9.3 percent stake in Zulily.

Liberty’s CEO Greg Maffei remarked of the management at Zulily, “Darrell, Mark and their team have built an impressive business around entertainment, discovery and value to the customer, which fits perfectly with the QVC philosophy”.

Under the transaction, the Seattle-based zulily (NASDAQ: ZU) will join the QVC Group, which will enable each company to expand its product lineup, brand portfolio and vendor network, QVC said Monday.

Liberty Interactive will pay $9.375 cash and 0.3098 share of a QVC tracking stock for each Zulily share.

The deal has been approved by the boards of both companies, and is expected to be completed in the last quarter of the year.