John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media Corporation, announced on Friday that he is stepping down from his director emeritus role at Charter Communications, TheWrap has learned.
In a statement shared with Cablemax, he cited “the uncertainty around Clayton Act inquiries,” a 1914 antitrust law that also prompted the resignations earlier this month of Steven A. Miron and Steven O. Newhouse at Warner Bros. Discovery.
In his resignation statement, Malone added, “I remain heavily invested in Charter via Liberty Broadband — which maintains its three board seats — and am confident in Charter’s leadership team and strategy for the business.”
Malone had been a director emeritus at Charter since 2018 when he retired as Charter’s full-time director. He retains his seat on the board of his holding company Liberty Media, where is he chairman, as well as on the WBD board.
The former WBD execs’ exit came after the Department of Justice notified them that it was investigating whether their service violated the 110-year-old provision that prohibits directors and officers from serving on the boards of competitors at the same time.
When they both opted to step down, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Kades of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division called the move “a win for consumers.”
Added Kades, “Congress was concerned that competitors who shared directors would compete less vigorously to provide better services and lower prices. We will continue to vigorously enforce the antitrust laws when necessary to address overreach by corporations and their designated agents.”
In March 2023, Malone and certain Charter Communications board members agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle a seven-year-old investor lawsuit accusing the American billionaire businessman of being unfairly compensated in Charter’s 2015 acquisition of Time Warner Cable. The settlement did not carry any admission of wrongdoing.
Cablefax first reported Malone’s exit.
