The rating on Liberty Interactive Corp. (Liberty) is based on Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' view that the company's management maintains a shareholder-favoring policy, including a history of split-offs and debt-financed share repurchases (e.g., the split-off of Liberty Starz and Liberty Capital in 2011 and Liberty Entertainment in 2009). We believe share repurchases will be an ongoing use of cash, and that management could contemplate making acquisitions. Liberty's sizable equity portfolio and its key subsidiary QVC's solid business fundamentals mitigate these negative factors somewhat. We view Liberty's business profile as "satisfactory" (according to our criteria), based on QVC's strong competitive position in TV-based retailing and its prospects for an ongoing solid operating performance. We assess Liberty's financial risk as "significant,"
