Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Investments In Available-For-Sale Securities And Other Cost Investments

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Investments In Available-For-Sale Securities And Other Cost Investments
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Investments in Available-for-Sale Securities and Other Cost Investments [Abstract]  
Investments in Available-for-Sale Securities and Other Cost Investments

 (6)   Investments in Available-for-Sale Securities and Other Cost Investments

 

All marketable equity and debt securities held by the Company are classified as available-for-sale ("AFS") and are carried at fair value generally based on quoted market prices. GAAP permits entities to choose to measure many financial instruments, such as AFS securities, and certain other items at fair value and to recognize the changes in fair value of such instruments in the entity's statement of operations. The Company previously had entered into economic hedges for certain of its non-strategic AFS securities (although such instruments were not accounted for as fair value hedges by the Company). Changes in the fair value of those economic hedges were reflected in the Company's statement of operations as unrealized gains (losses). In order to better match the changes in fair value of the subject AFS securities and the changes in fair value of the corresponding economic hedges in the Company's financial statements, the Company has elected to account for those of its AFS securities which it considers to be non-strategic ("Fair Value Option Securities") at fair value. Accordingly, changes in the fair value of Fair Value Option Securities, as determined by quoted market prices, are reported in realized and unrealized gains (losses) on financial instruments in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

 

Investments in AFS securities, including Fair Value Option Securities separately aggregated, and other cost investments are summarized as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

December 31, 2015

   

December 31, 2014

 

 

 

amounts in millions

 

Fair Value Option Securities

    

 

 

    

    

 

Time Warner Inc. (a)

 

$

275

 

363

 

Viacom, Inc. (b)

 

 

76

 

273

 

Other equity securities

 

 

74

 

82

 

Other debt securities

 

 

25

 

27

 

Total Fair Value Option Securities

 

 

450

 

745

 

AFS and cost investments

 

 

 

 

 

 

Live Nation debt securities

 

 

24

 

24

 

Other AFS and cost investments

 

 

59

 

47

 

Total AFS and cost investments

 

 

83

 

71

 

 

 

$

533

 

816

 


(a)

See note 9 for details regarding the number and fair value of shares pledged as collateral pursuant to certain margin loan agreements and the Braves Holdings mixed-use development facility as of December 31, 2015.

(b)

During the year ended December 31, 2015, Liberty sold 1.8 million shares of Viacom, Inc. common stock for approximately $122 million in proceeds.  Shares of Viacom, Inc. common stock are no longer pledged as collateral pursuant to margin loan agreements as of December 31, 2015.

 

Unrealized Holding Gains and Losses

 

There were no unrealized holding gains or losses related to investments in AFS securities at December 31, 2015 or 2014.