Hoping to build a powerful stable of online properties, Englewood, CO-based Liberty Media, owner of the QVC home shopping network, bought e-tailer Provide Commerce in a deal worth $477 million.
The all-cash deal gives Liberty Media control of Provide’s family of Websites, which include ProFlowers, fruit and produce merchant Cherry Moon Farms, and meats seller Uptown Prime.
Liberty said it would seek to leverage the connection between QVC and its new Websites. That echoes IAC/InterActiveCorp.’s strategy following its purchase earlier this year of Cornerstone Brands. IAC is the parent company of home shopping network HSN; Cornerstone Brands’ catalog titles include Frontgate, Garnet Hill, and The Territory Ahead. Liberty, in fact, owns a minority stake in IAC.