UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D. C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

 

☒QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2016

OR

 

☐TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the transition period from                to                

Commission File Number 001-36713

LIBERTY BROADBAND CORPORATION

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (720) 875-5700

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒    No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒    No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐    No ☒

The number of outstanding shares of Liberty Broadband Corporation's common stock as of April 30, 2016 was:

 

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

 

 

LIBERTY BROADBAND CORPORATION

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(unaudited)

 

See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

LIBERTY BROADBAND CORPORATION

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(unaudited)

 

 

See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

LIBERTY BROADBAND CORPORATION

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Earnings (Loss)

(unaudited)

 

 

See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

LIBERTY BROADBAND CORPORATION

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(unaudited)

 

 

See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

 

LIBERTY BROADBAND CORPORATION

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Equity

(unaudited)

 

 

See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

(1) Basis of Presentation

During May 2014, the board of Liberty Media Corporation and its subsidiaries (“Liberty,” formerly named Liberty Spinco, Inc.) authorized management to pursue a plan to spin-off to its stockholders common stock of a newly formed company to be called Liberty Broadband Corporation (“Liberty Broadband” or the “Company”), and to distribute subscription rights to acquire shares of Series C Liberty Broadband common stock (the “Broadband Spin-Off”). Liberty Broadband is comprised of, among other things, (i) Liberty’s former interest in Charter Communications, Inc. (“Charter”), (ii) Liberty’s former wholly-owned subsidiary TruePosition, Inc. (“TruePosition”), (iii) Liberty’s former minority equity investment in Time Warner Cable, Inc. (“Time Warner Cable”), (iv) certain deferred tax liabilities, as well as liabilities related to Time Warner Cable written call options and (v) initial indebtedness, pursuant to margin loans entered into prior to the completion of the Broadband Spin-Off. These financial statements refer to the combination of the aforementioned subsidiary, investments, and financial instruments as “Liberty Broadband,” “the Company,” “us,” “we” and “our” in the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

In the Broadband Spin-Off, record holders of Liberty Series A, Series B and Series C common stock received one-fourth of a share of the corresponding series of Liberty Broadband common stock for each share of Liberty common stock held by them as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on October 29, 2014 (the record date), with cash paid in lieu of fractional shares. In addition, following the completion of the Broadband Spin-Off, on December 10, 2014, stockholders received a subscription right to acquire one share of Series C Liberty Broadband common stock for every five shares of Liberty Broadband common stock they held as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on December 4, 2014 (the rights record date) at a per share subscription price of $40.36, which was a 20% discount to the 20-trading day volume weighted average trading price of the Series C Liberty Broadband common stock following the completion of the Broadband Spin-Off. The rights offering was fully subscribed on January 9, 2015, with 17,277,224 shares of Series C common stock issued to those rightsholders exercising basic and, as applicable, oversubscription privileges for total proceeds of $697.3 million. The subscription rights were issued to raise capital for general corporate purposes of Liberty Broadband. The Broadband Spin-Off and rights offering were intended to be tax-free to stockholders of Liberty and Liberty Broadband, respectively. During September 2015, Liberty entered into a closing agreement with the IRS which provided that the Broadband Spin-Off qualified for tax-free treatment. The Broadband Spin-Off was accounted for at historical cost due to the pro rata nature of the distribution to holders of Liberty common stock.

The accompanying (a) condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2015, which has been derived from audited financial statements, and (b) interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X as promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation of the results for such periods have been included. The results of operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of results for the full year. Additionally, certain prior period amounts have been reclassified for comparability with current period presentation. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in Liberty Broadband's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in the condensed consolidated financial statements.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The Company considers (i) the application of the equity method of accounting for investments in affiliates, (ii) the fair value

of non-financial instruments, (iii) the fair value of financial instruments, (iv) revenue recognition and (v) accounting for income taxes to be its most significant estimates.

In March 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued new accounting guidance on share-based payment accounting.  The areas for simplification in this update involve several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, forfeiture calculations, and classification on the statement of cash flows.  The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those fiscal years, and early adoption is permitted.  An entity that elects early adoption must adopt all of the amendments in the same period.   We are currently evaluating the impact and timing of adoption of this guidance on our consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued new accounting guidance on lease accounting. This guidance requires a company to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities arising from operating leases in the statement of financial position.  This guidance does not significantly change the previous lease guidance for how a lessee should account for a lease.  Additionally, the criteria for classifying a lease as a finance lease versus an operating lease are substantially the same as the previous guidance.  The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years, and early adoption is permitted.  We plan to adopt this guidance on January 1, 2019.  Companies are required to use a modified retrospective approach to adopt this guidance.  We are currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this new guidance on our consolidated financial statements and expect it to have an impact on our consolidated balance sheets.

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued new accounting guidance on revenue from contracts with customers. The new guidance requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. This new guidance also requires additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments and assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract. In March 2016, the FASB issued additional guidance which clarifies principal versus agent considerations, and in April 2016, the FASB issued further guidance which clarifies the identification of performance obligations and the implementation guidance for licensing. The updated guidance will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in GAAP when it becomes effective and permits the use of either a full retrospective or modified retrospective transition method. This guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2017, and early adoption is permitted only for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company currently does not plan to early adopt this new guidance and is evaluating the effect that the updated standard will have on its revenue recognition and has not yet selected a transition method.

Liberty Broadband holds an investment that is accounted for using the equity method. Liberty Broadband does not control the decision making process or business management practices of this affiliate. Accordingly, Liberty Broadband relies on the management of this affiliate to provide it with accurate financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP that the Company uses in the application of the equity method. In addition, Liberty Broadband relies on audit reports that are provided by the affiliate's independent auditor on the financial statements of such affiliate. The Company is not aware, however, of any errors in or possible misstatements of the financial information provided by its equity affiliate that would have a material effect on Liberty Broadband's condensed consolidated financial statements.

During 2015, Liberty Broadband entered into certain agreements with Charter, Liberty Interactive Corporation (“Liberty Interactive”) and Time Warner Cable in connection with certain proposed transactions among these companies. See note 5 for additional detail regarding these transactions and corresponding agreements.

Spin-Off of Liberty Broadband from Liberty Media Corporation

Following the Broadband Spin-Off, Liberty and Liberty Broadband operate as separate, publicly traded companies, and neither has any stock ownership, beneficial or otherwise, in the other. In connection with the Broadband Spin-Off, Liberty and Liberty Broadband entered into certain agreements in order to govern certain of the ongoing relationships between the two companies after the Broadband Spin-Off and to provide for an orderly transition. These agreements include a reorganization agreement, a services agreement, a facilities sharing agreement and a tax sharing agreement.

The reorganization agreement provides for, among other things, the principal corporate transactions (including the internal restructuring) required to effect the Broadband Spin-Off, certain conditions to the Broadband Spin-Off and provisions governing the relationship between Liberty Broadband and Liberty with respect to and resulting from the Broadband Spin-Off. The tax sharing agreement provides for the allocation and indemnification of tax liabilities and benefits between Liberty and Liberty Broadband and other agreements related to tax matters. Among other things, pursuant to the tax sharing agreement, Liberty Broadband has agreed to indemnify Liberty, subject to certain limited exceptions, for losses and taxes resulting from the Broadband Spin-Off to the extent such losses or taxes result primarily from, individually or in the aggregate, the breach of certain restrictive covenants made by Liberty Broadband (applicable to actions or failures to act by Liberty Broadband and its subsidiaries following the completion of the Broadband Spin-Off). Pursuant to the services agreement, Liberty provides Liberty Broadband with general and administrative services including legal, tax, accounting, treasury and investor relations support. Under the facilities sharing agreement, Liberty Broadband shares office space with Liberty and related amenities at Liberty’s corporate headquarters. Liberty Broadband will reimburse Liberty for direct, out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Liberty in providing these services and for costs that will be negotiated semi-annually. Under these various agreements, approximately $1.0 million and $891 thousand was reimbursable to Liberty for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

 

(2) Earnings (Loss) per Share

Basic earnings (loss) per common share (“EPS”) is computed by dividing net earnings (loss) attributable to Liberty Broadband shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS presents the dilutive effect on a per share basis of potential common shares as if they had been converted at the beginning of the periods presented. The basic and diluted EPS calculations are based on the following weighted average number of shares of outstanding common stock.

Excluded from the number of potentially dilutive shares in the table above for the three months ended March 31, 2016 are 5 thousand potential common shares because their inclusion would be antidilutive.

 

 

 

 

(3) Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value

For assets and liabilities required to be reported at fair value, GAAP provides a hierarchy that prioritizes inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels. Level 1 inputs are quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date. Level 2 inputs are inputs, other than quoted market prices included within Level 1, that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs for the asset or liability. The Company does not have any recurring assets or liabilities measured at fair value that would be considered Level 2 or Level 3.

The Company’s assets and (liabilities) measured at fair value are as follows:

 

Other Financial Instruments

Other financial instruments not measured at fair value on a recurring basis include trade receivables, trade payables, accrued and other current liabilities. The carrying amount approximates fair value due to the short maturity of these instruments as reported on our condensed consolidated balance sheets.

Realized and Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Financial Instruments

Realized and unrealized gains (losses) on financial instruments are comprised of changes in the fair value of the following:

 

 

(4) Investments in Available-for-Sale Securities

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 statements of operations. The Company has elected to account for those of its AFS securities which it considers to be nonstrategic (“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 condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Investments in AFS securities, including our interest in Time Warner Cable which is our only Fair Value Option Security, are summarized as follows:

Unrealized Holding Gains and Losses

As of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, the gross unrealized holding gains related to investments in AFS securities were $54 thousand and $357 thousand, respectively. There were no gross unrealized holding losses related to investment in AFS securities for the periods presented.

(5) Investments in Affiliates Accounted for Using the Equity Method

In May 2013, Liberty acquired approximately 26.9 million shares of common stock and approximately 1.1 million warrants to purchase shares of Charter common stock for approximately $2.6 billion, which represented an approximate 27% beneficial ownership (including the warrants on an as if converted basis) in Charter at the time of purchase and a price per share of $95.50. Liberty funded the purchase with a combination of cash on hand of approximately $1.2 billion and new margin loan arrangements. Liberty allocated the purchase price between the shares of common stock and the warrants acquired in the transaction by determining the fair value of the publicly traded warrants and allocating the remaining balance to the shares acquired, which resulted in an excess basis in the investment of $2,532 million. The investment in Charter is accounted for as an equity method affiliate based on the ownership interest obtained and the board seats held by individuals appointed by Liberty.

During May 2014, Liberty purchased 897 thousand Charter shares for approximately $124.5 million. During November 2014, subsequent to the Broadband Spin-Off, Liberty Broadband exercised all of the Company’s outstanding warrants to purchase shares of Charter common stock for approximately $52 million.

As of March 31, 2016, the carrying value of Liberty Broadband’s ownership in Charter was approximately $2,301 million. The market value of Liberty Broadband’s ownership in Charter as of March 31, 2016 was approximately $5,838 million, which represented an approximate ownership of 26% of the outstanding equity of Charter as of that date.

Due to the amortization of amortizable assets and debt acquired, losses due to warrant and stock option exercises at Charter (as discussed below) and the acquisition of additional shares of Charter, the excess basis is $2,357 million as of March 31, 2016 and has been allocated within memo accounts used for equity accounting purposes as follows (amounts in millions):

 

 

Upon acquisition, Liberty ascribed remaining useful lives of 7 years and 13 years to property and equipment and customer relationships, respectively, and indefinite lives to franchise fees, trademarks and goodwill. The excess basis of outstanding debt is amortized over the contractual period using the effective interest rate method. The Company’s share of earnings (losses) of affiliates line item in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations includes $22.1 million and $22.5 million, net of related taxes, for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, due to the amortization of the excess basis related to assets with identifiable useful lives and debt.

Due to dilution from Charter warrant and stock option exercises by outside investors (employees and other third parties) at prices below Liberty Broadband’s book basis per share, the Company had losses of $1.7 million and $410 thousand during the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Summarized unaudited financial information for Charter is as follows (amounts in millions):

Charter condensed consolidated balance sheet

 

Charter condensed consolidated statement of operations

 

On March 31, 2015, Liberty Broadband announced its entry into a new stockholders agreement with Charter, a subsidiary of Charter (“New Charter”) and Advance/Newhouse Partnership (“A/N”) (the “Bright House Stockholders Agreement”), which would have replaced the Company’s existing stockholders agreement with Charter, as amended September 29, 2014. Liberty Broadband’s entry into the Bright House Stockholders Agreement came as the result of Charter’s announcement of a proposed transaction with A/N, pursuant to which New Charter would acquire Bright House Networks (“Bright House”) from A/N for $10.4 billion (the “Bright House Transaction”). The closing of the Bright House Transaction was subject to several conditions, including Charter’s receipt of stockholder approval, the expiration of Time Warner Cable’s right of first offer for Bright House, the closing of a binding definitive agreement between Charter and Comcast Corporation (the “Comcast Transactions Agreement”) and regulatory approval.

As announced by Charter on April 24, 2015, the Comcast Transactions Agreement was terminated by Comcast Corporation. As the closing of the Comcast Transactions Agreement had been a condition to the Bright House Transaction, the parties to the Bright House Stockholders Agreement were to consider, and negotiate for a period of 30 days in good faith, amendments to the terms of the Bright House Stockholders Agreement that would be desirable to consummate the Bright House Transaction.

On May 26, 2015, Liberty Broadband announced its entry into an agreement with Charter to invest $4.3 billion at a price of $176.95 per share in connection with (and contingent upon) the closing of the proposed merger of Time Warner Cable and Charter (the “Time Warner Cable Merger”), which was also announced on May 26, 2015. Additionally, Liberty Broadband agreed to purchase an additional $700 million at a price of $173.00 per share (adjusted by the applicable exchange rates in the Time Warner Cable Merger) in connection with Charter’s proposed acquisition of Bright House from A/N, which is generally conditioned on the closing of the Time Warner Cable Merger. In connection with these transactions, it is expected that Charter will undergo a corporate reorganization, resulting in New Charter, a current subsidiary of Charter, becoming the new publicly traded parent company.

As discussed previously, in support of the Time Warner Cable Merger, Liberty Broadband will purchase shares of stock in New Charter (the “Charter Shares”) using proceeds of $4.4 billion related to subscriptions for newly issued shares of Liberty Broadband’s Series C common stock (the “Series C Shares”), at a price per share of $56.23, which was determined based upon the fair value of Liberty Broadband’s net assets on a sum-of-the parts basis at the time the investment agreements were executed. The purchasers of the Series C Shares are Liberty Interactive through its Liberty Ventures Group and certain other third party investors, which will all invest on substantially similar terms. One of the third party investors also holds a position in Time Warner Cable and agreed to vote its Time Warner Cable shares in favor of the Time Warner Cable Merger. The Series C Share subscriptions are subject to customary closing conditions and funding will only occur in connection with the completion of the Time Warner Cable Merger. Each of Charter and Liberty Broadband obtained stockholder approval during September 2015 for the issuance of the Charter Shares and the Series C Shares, respectively, in accordance with the rules and requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market. Liberty Broadband has the right, and may determine, to incur debt financing (subject to certain conditions) to fund a portion of the purchase price for its investment in New Charter, in which case Liberty Broadband may reduce the aggregate subscription for Series C Shares by up to 25%, with such reduction applied pro rata to all investors, including Liberty Interactive.

In connection with the Time Warner Cable Merger, Liberty Broadband has also entered into an agreement with Charter pursuant to which it has agreed to vote all of its shares of Charter’s Class A common stock in favor of the Time Warner Cable Merger, the issuance of the Charter Shares and any related proposals. Liberty Broadband and Liberty Interactive have also entered into an agreement with Charter which provides that Liberty Broadband and Liberty Interactive will exchange, in a tax-free transaction, the shares of Time Warner Cable common stock held by each company for shares of New Charter Class A common stock (subject to certain limitations). In addition, Liberty Interactive has also agreed to grant Liberty Broadband a proxy over the shares of New Charter it receives in the exchange, along with a right of first refusal with respect to the underlying New Charter shares.

Liberty Broadband intends to fund its commitment to purchase up to $700 million in shares of New Charter at a per share price of $173.00 (as adjusted) in connection with the Bright House acquisition through cash on hand or other financing. As previously announced, A/N and Liberty Broadband will enter into a proxy agreement, pursuant to which A/N will grant Liberty Broadband a five-year proxy to vote shares of New Charter held by A/N, capped at 7% of New Charter’s outstanding shares. Liberty Broadband is expected to control approximately 25.01% of the aggregate voting power of New Charter following the completion of the Time Warner Cable Merger and the Bright House Transaction and is expected to be New Charter’s largest stockholder.

The terms of a new stockholders agreement among Charter, New Charter, Liberty Broadband and A/N (which will become effective upon the closing of the Bright House Transaction) remain substantially similar to the Bright House Stockholders Agreement, except that the restrictions on Liberty Broadband’s ability to utilize its shares of New Charter in connection with financing transactions have been eliminated and A/N will be entitled to designate two (instead of three) director nominees, among other things.

The Time Warner Cable Merger was approved by stockholders of both Charter and Time Warner Cable during September 2015 and was also approved by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) during April 2016. The Time Warner Cable Merger is subject to regulatory approval from the California Public Utility Commission (the “California PUC”) and the Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”) and other customary conditions to closing. The Bright House acquisition is subject to several conditions, including the completion of the Time Warner Cable Merger (subject to certain exceptions if Time Warner Cable enters into another sale transaction) and regulatory approval. The Administrative Law Judge for the California PUC proceeding entered a proposed order for approval of the Time Warner Cable Merger and the Bright House acquisition on April 12, 2016. The California PUC is scheduled to act on such proposed order at its May 12, 2016 meeting. There are no assurances as to the timing of the decision of the California PUC, that the California PUC will make a final determination of approval, or that the California PUC will not impose conditions in addition to those proposed by the Administrative Law Judge. Therefore, as these transactions are subject to certain contingencies, we have not reflected any financial impacts in the condensed consolidated financial statements related to the respective agreements as of March 31, 2016.

 

 

(6) Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

There were no changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the three months ended March 31, 2016.

 

Intangible assets subject to amortization are comprised of the following (amounts in thousands):

 

Effective January 1, 2015, TruePosition’s patents are amortized straight-line over three and a half years and TruePosition’s tradename and customer relationship are amortized straight-line over five and a half years. Capitalized software intangible assets are amortized over three to five years. Amortization expense was $858 thousand and $834 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

The estimated future amortization expense for the next five years related to intangible assets with definite lives as of March 31, 2016 is as follows (amounts in thousands):

 

 

 

 

(7) Debt

On October 30, 2014, in connection with and prior to the effectiveness of the Broadband Spin-Off, a wholly-owned special purpose subsidiary of the Company (“BroadbandSPV”) entered into two margin loan agreements (the “2014 Margin Loan Agreements”) with each of the lenders party thereto. The 2014 Margin Loan Agreements permit BroadbandSPV, subject to certain funding conditions, to borrow term loans up to an aggregate principal amount equal to $400 million (the “2014 Margin Loans”), of which BroadbandSPV borrowed $320 million on October 31, 2014. Approximately $300 million of the amount borrowed pursuant to the 2014 Margin Loan Agreements (less certain expenses incurred in connection with the 2014 Margin Loans) was distributed to Liberty prior to the Broadband Spin-Off. During November 2014, subsequent to the Broadband Spin-Off, Liberty Broadband borrowed an additional $52 million to fund the exercise of the warrants to purchase shares of Charter common stock. As of March 31, 2016, Liberty Broadband had drawn $400 million under the 2014 Margin Loan Agreements, with no additional availability. The maturity date of the 2014 Margin Loans is October 30, 2017. Borrowings under the 2014 Margin Loan Agreements bear interest at the three-month LIBOR rate plus 1.55%. Borrowings outstanding under these margin loans bore interest at a rate of 2.16% per annum at March 31, 2016. Interest is payable quarterly in arrears beginning on December 31, 2014. The 2014 Margin Loan Agreements contain various affirmative and negative covenants that restrict the activities of BroadbandSPV. The 2014 Margin Loan Agreements do not include any financial covenants. The 2014 Margin Loan Agreements also contain restrictions related to additional indebtedness. In connection with Cheetah 5’s (as defined below) execution of the 2016 Margin Loan Agreements (as defined below), the 2014 Margin Loan Agreements were amended to, among other things, permit the transactions under the 2016 Margin Loan Agreements and conform certain of the terms in the 2014 Margin Loan Agreements to the 2016 Margin Loan Agreements.

 

On March 21, 2016, a wholly-owned special purpose subsidiary of the Company (“Cheetah 5”), entered into two margin loan agreements (the “2016 Margin Loan Agreements”) with each of the lenders thereto. The 2016 Margin Loan Agreements permit Cheetah 5, subject to certain funding conditions, to borrow initial term loans up to an aggregate principal amount equal to $200 million and delayed draw loans (the “Draw Loans”) up to an aggregate principal amount equal to  $100 million, for an aggregate total of $300 million (collectively the “2016 Margin Loans”). Cheetah 5 has borrowed $200 million as of March 31, 2016 and had $100 million available to be drawn until March 21, 2017. The maturity date of the 2016 Margin Loans is March 21, 2018. Borrowings under the 2016 Margin Loans bear interest at the applicable LIBOR rate plus 2.10% per annum. Borrowings outstanding under these margin loans bore interest at a rate of 2.50% per annum at March 31, 2016.  Interest is payable quarterly in arrears beginning on March 31, 2016. The proceeds of the 2016 Margin Loans will be used for distribution as a dividend or a return of capital, for the purchase of margin stock and for general corporate purposes. The 2016 Margin Loan Agreements contain various affirmative and negative covenants that restrict the activities of Cheetah 5. The 2016 Margin Loan Agreements do not include any financial covenants. The 2016 Margin Loan Agreements also contain restrictions related to additional indebtedness.

 

BroadbandSPV’s and Cheetah 5’s obligations under the 2014 Margin Loan Agreements and 2016 Margin Loan Agreements, respectively, are guaranteed by the Company. In addition, BroadbandSPV’s obligations are secured by first

priority liens on a portion of the Company’s ownership interest in Charter and Cheetah 5’s obligations are secured by first priority liens on a portion of the Company’s ownership interests in Charter and Time Warner Cable, sufficient for Broadband SPV and Cheetah 5 to meet the loan to value requirements under the 2014 Margin Loan Agreements and 2016 Margin Loan Agreements, respectively. Each agreement contains language that indicates that Liberty Broadband, as borrower and transferor of underlying shares as collateral, has the right to exercise all voting, consensual and other powers of ownership pertaining to the transferred shares for all purposes, provided that Liberty Broadband agrees that it will not vote the shares in any manner that would reasonably be expected to give rise to transfer or other certain restrictions. Similarly, the loan agreements indicate that no lender party shall have any voting rights with respect to the shares transferred, except to the extent that a lender party buys any shares in a sale or other disposition made pursuant to the terms of the loan agreements. As of March 31, 2016, 8.2 million shares of Charter with a value of $1.7 billion and 2.4 million shares of Time Warner Cable with a value of $483.9 million were pledged as collateral pursuant to the 2014 Margin Loans and the 2016 Margin Loans.

 

Due to the variable rate nature of the 2014 Margin Loans and the 2016 Margin Loans, the Company believes that the carrying amount approximates fair value at March 31, 2016. 

 

In connection with the collar agreement on shares of Time Warner Cable entered into on March 27, 2015, as discussed in note 3, the Company also entered into a $234 million revolving loan agreement. On April 7, 2015, Liberty Broadband drew $40 million on this loan, which was the amount used to match the outstanding call liability. The shares of Time Warner Cable underlying the collar served as collateral for borrowings under the revolving loan agreement. Borrowings outstanding under the revolving loan agreement bore interest at the three-month LIBOR rate plus 0.64%, payable quarterly in arrears beginning on March 31, 2015. The interest rate on the unused portion of the revolving loan agreement was 0.12% per annum. The Company repaid the $40 million drawn on the loan during July 2015 and the agreement was terminated upon unwinding of the Time Warner Cable collar agreement. 

(8) Stock-Based Compensation

Liberty Broadband grants, to certain of its directors, employees and employees of its subsidiaries, restricted stock and stock options to purchase shares of its common stock (collectively, "Awards"). The Company measures the cost of employee services received in exchange for an equity classified Award (such as stock options and restricted stock) based on the grant-date fair value of the Award, and recognizes that cost over the period during which the employee is required to provide service (usually the vesting period of the Award). The Company measures the cost of employee services received in exchange for a liability classified Award based on the current fair value of the Award, and remeasures the fair value of the Award at each reporting date.

Included in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations are the following amounts of stock-based compensation for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 (amounts in thousands):

 

Liberty Broadband – Grants of Stock Options

There were no options to purchase shares of Series A or Series C common stock granted during the three months ended March 31, 2016.

The Company calculates the grant-date fair value for all of its equity classified awards and any subsequent remeasurement of its liability classified awards using the Black-Scholes Model. The Company estimates the expected term of the Awards based on historical exercise and forfeiture data. Since Liberty Broadband common stock has not traded on the stock market for a significant length of time, the volatility used in the calculation for Awards is based on the historical volatility of Charter common stock and the implied volatility of publicly traded Charter options; as the most significant asset within Liberty Broadband, the volatility of Charter served as a proxy for the expected volatility of Liberty Broadband.  The Company uses a zero dividend rate and the risk-free rate for Treasury Bonds with a term similar to that of the subject option.

Liberty Broadband – Outstanding Awards

The following table presents the number and weighted average exercise price (“WAEP”) of Awards to purchase Liberty Broadband common stock granted to certain officers, employees and directors of the Company, as well as the weighted average remaining life and aggregate intrinsic value of the Awards.

 

 

 

As of March 31, 2016, the total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested Awards was approximately $20 million. Such amount will be recognized in the Company's consolidated statements of operations over a weighted average period of approximately 2.5 years.

As of March 31, 2016, Liberty Broadband reserved 3.2 million shares of Series A and Series C common stock for issuance under exercise privileges of outstanding stock Awards.

TruePosition Equity Incentive Plans

TruePosition did not issue any stand-alone phantom stock appreciation rights (“PARs”), stand-alone phantom stock units (“PSUs”) or Skyhook PARs during the three months ended March 31, 2016. As of March 31, 2016, the fair value of outstanding PARs and PSUs was approximately $3.9 million. As of March 31, 2016, $2.0 million (Level 3) is included in Other current liabilities in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet for the fair value of TruePosition’s vested long-term incentive plan obligations.

(9) Commitments and Contingencies

Leases

TruePosition leases various properties under operating leases expiring at various times through 2018. TruePosition’s principal facility is under lease through December 2017. Including amounts due to Liberty under the facilities sharing agreement, the Company’s total rental expense was $251 thousand and $692 thousand for each of the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

General Litigation

In the ordinary course of business, the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries are parties to legal proceedings and claims involving alleged infringement of third-party intellectual property rights, defamation, and other claims. Although it is reasonably possible that the Company may incur losses upon conclusion of such matters, an estimate of any loss or range of loss cannot be made. In the opinion of management, it is expected that amounts, if any, which may be required to satisfy such contingencies will not be material in relation to the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements.

Litigation

On September 10, 2010, Skyhook filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against Google, Inc. (“Google”). In March 2013, Skyhook amended its lawsuit to add additional claims. In total, at the time the case was to be tried, Skyhook alleged that Google infringed on eight Skyhook patents involving location technology and sought an injunction and/or award of damages in an amount to be determined at trial. The case had been scheduled to be tried before a jury commencing March 9, 2015. However, on March 5, 2015, the parties advised the District Court that the case had been settled and thereby dismissed the action without costs and without prejudice to the right, upon good cause shown within 45 days, to reopen the action if the settlement was not consummated. On March 27, 2015, the parties consummated a final settlement agreement and on April 24, 2015, Google paid Skyhook settlement consideration of $90 million. In return for payment of the settlement consideration, Google received dismissal of the action with prejudice, a license to the existing Skyhook patents and patent applications (and their continuations, divisionals, continuations-in-part), a three-year covenant not to sue (subject to limited exceptions) and a mutual release of claims. The settlement amount of $90 million is recorded net of approximately $29.5 million for legal fees in the statement of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2015.

On May 23, 2012, TruePosition filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against Polaris Wireless, Inc. (“Polaris”), related to the sale by Polaris of systems used to locate mobile devices.  In parallel with the lawsuit, at Polaris’s request, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office initiated an Inter Partes Review.  Both the District Court and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruled adversely to TruePosition. On December 15, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit confirmed the decision of the Patent Trial and Appeals Board, and dismissed the appeal of the District Court's ruling as moot. No further appeal will be taken by TruePosition. Subsequent to the adverse rulings on May 14, 2015, Polaris filed a motion in the District Court for an award of approximately $3 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in defending the lawsuit.  The matter was heard by the Court on October 16, 2015, wherein the court denied the Polaris motion.

Indemnification Claims

In the normal course of business, TruePosition provides indemnification to certain customers against specified claims that might arise against those customers from the use of TruePosition’s products. To date, TruePosition has not made any significant reimbursements to any of its customers for any losses related to these indemnification provisions. However, four such claims are currently pending. TruePosition is unable to estimate the maximum potential impact of these indemnification provisions on its future results of operations, although TruePosition’s liabilities in certain of those arrangements are customarily limited in various respects, including monetarily. Accordingly, no accrual was recorded related to indemnification claims as of March 31, 2016 or December 31, 2015.

Certain Risks and Concentrations

The TruePosition business is subject to certain risks and concentrations including dependence on relationships with its customers. Historically, TruePosition had one significant customer whose contract expired on December 31, 2015. The loss of this customer is expected to have a material adverse effect on TruePosition’s business unless TruePosition is able to generate significant new business to replace the financial impact of this customer. For the three months ended March 31, 2015, this customer accounted for 74% of TruePosition’s total revenue.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

Liberty Broadband did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements that have, or are reasonably likely to have, a current or future effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.

(10) Segment Information

Liberty Broadband identifies its reportable segments as (A) those consolidated companies that represent 10% or more of its consolidated annual revenue, annual Adjusted OIBDA or total assets and (B) those equity method affiliates whose share of earnings represent 10% or more of Liberty Broadband’s annual pre-tax earnings.

Liberty Broadband evaluates performance and makes decisions about allocating resources to its operating segments based on financial measures such as revenue and Adjusted OIBDA. In addition, Liberty Broadband reviews nonfinancial measures such as subscriber growth.

Liberty Broadband defines Adjusted OIBDA as revenue less operating expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses (excluding stock-based compensation). Liberty Broadband believes this measure is an important indicator of the operational strength and performance of its businesses, including each business’s ability to service debt and fund capital expenditures. In addition, this measure allows management to view operating results and perform analytical comparisons and benchmarking between businesses and identify strategies to improve performance. This measure of performance excludes depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, separately reported litigation settlements and restructuring and impairment charges that are included in the measurement of operating income pursuant to GAAP. Accordingly, Adjusted OIBDA should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, operating income, net earnings, cash flow provided by operating activities and other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Liberty Broadband generally accounts for intersegment sales and transfers as if the sales or transfers were to third parties, that is, at current prices.

For the three months ended March 31, 2016, Liberty Broadband has identified the following consolidated subsidiary and equity method investment as its reportable segments:

Liberty Broadband’s operating segments are strategic business units that offer different products and services. They are managed separately because each segment requires different technologies, distribution channels and marketing strategies. The accounting policies of the segments that are also consolidated companies are the same as those described in the Company’s summary of significant accounting policies in the Company’s annual financial statements. We have included amounts attributable to Charter in the tables below. Although Liberty Broadband owns less than 100% of the

outstanding shares of Charter, 100% of the Charter amounts are included in the schedule below and subsequently eliminated in order to reconcile the account totals to the Liberty Broadband condensed consolidated financial statements.

Performance Measures

 

Other Information

 

The following table provides a reconciliation of segment Adjusted OIBDA to earnings (loss) before income taxes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Certain statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding our business, product and marketing strategies; new service offerings; the recoverability of our goodwill and other long-lived assets; the performance of our equity affiliate; our projected sources and uses of cash; and the anticipated non-material impact of certain contingent liabilities related to legal and tax proceedings and other matters arising in the ordinary course of business. Where, in any forward-looking statement, we express an expectation or belief as to future results or events, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that the expectation or belief will result or be achieved or accomplished. The following include some but not all of the factors (as they relate to our consolidated subsidiaries and equity affiliates) that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated:

Risks Related to the Timer Warner Cable Merger and the Bright House Transaction

 

For additional risk factors, please see Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. These forward-looking statements and such risks, uncertainties and other factors speak only as of the date of this Quarterly Report, and we expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein, to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto, or any other change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

The following discussion and analysis provides information concerning our results of operations and financial condition. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto.

Overview

During May 2014, the board of Liberty Media Corporation and its subsidiaries (“Liberty,” formerly named Liberty Spinco, Inc.) authorized management to pursue a plan to spin-off to its stockholders common stock of a newly formed company, Liberty Broadband, and to distribute subscription rights to acquire shares of Liberty Broadband Series C common

stock (the “Broadband Spin-Off”). At 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on November 4, 2014, the Broadband Spin-Off was completed and shares of Liberty Broadband common stock were distributed to the shareholders of Liberty as of a record date of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on October 29, 2014. Liberty Broadband is comprised of, among other things, (i) Liberty’s former interest in Charter Communications, Inc. (“Charter”), (ii) Liberty’s former wholly-owned subsidiary TruePosition, Inc. (“TruePosition”), (iii) Liberty’s former minority equity investment in Time Warner Cable, Inc. (“Time Warner Cable”), (iv) certain deferred tax liabilities, as well as liabilities related to the Time Warner Cable written call option and (v) initial indebtedness, pursuant to margin loans entered into prior to the completion of the Broadband Spin-Off. The Broadband Spin-Off was accounted for at historical cost due to the pro rata nature of the distribution to holders of Liberty common stock.

In the Broadband Spin-Off, record holders of Liberty Series A, Series B and Series C common stock received one-fourth of a share of the corresponding series of Liberty Broadband common stock for each share of Liberty common stock held by them as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time on October 29, 2014 (the “record date”) for the Broadband Spin-Off, with cash paid in lieu of fractional shares. In addition, following the completion of the Broadband Spin-Off, on December 10, 2014, stockholders received a subscription right to acquire one share of Series C Liberty Broadband common stock for every five shares of Liberty Broadband common stock they held as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on December 4, 2014 (the “rights record date”) at a per share subscription price of $40.36, which was a 20% discount to the 20-trading day volume weighted average trading price of the Series C Liberty Broadband common stock following the completion of the Broadband Spin-Off. The rights offering was fully subscribed on January 9, 2015, with 17,277,224 shares of Series C common stock issued to those rightsholders exercising basic and, as applicable, oversubscription privileges. The Broadband Spin-Off and rights offering were intended to be tax-free to stockholders of Liberty and Liberty Broadband, respectively. The subscription rights were issued to raise capital for general corporate purposes of Liberty Broadband.

The financial information represents a combination of the historical financial information of TruePosition, Liberty Broadband’s interest in Charter, Liberty Broadband’s minority equity investment in Time Warner Cable and certain deferred tax liabilities, as well as liabilities related to the Time Warner Cable written call option. This financial information refers to the combination of the aforementioned subsidiary, investments, and financial instruments, as “Liberty Broadband,” “the Company,” “us,” “we” and “our” here and in the notes to the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements.

Results of Operations—Consolidated—March 31, 2016 and 2015

Consolidated operating results:

 

Revenue

Revenue decreased $9.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016 as compared to the same period in the prior year. The decrease in revenue from the prior period was primarily due to the loss of TruePosition’s largest customer whose contract expired on December 31, 2015. This customer accounted for 74% of TruePosition’s total revenue for the three