Days After Announcing Deal, Malone Buying out GCI’s Stake in Liberty Latin America

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2026 – Days after announcing a $107 million investment in Liberty Latin America, GCI Liberty said Monday that cable magnate John Malone was buying out GCI’s position.

Malone was on both sides of the deal. He controls GCI in Alaska and has a seven percent stake in LLA, where he serves as director emeritus. 

The companies had said on May 7 that GCI and Malone were in talks for the company to buy Malone’s own shares of LLA. Those discussions are now over. 

GCI said in a statement that Malone had been envisioning “a larger, more strategic transaction” involving LLA, but that unexpected regulatory hurdles made it impossible for now.

“We had been evaluating an investment in LLA that was predicated on obtaining both substantial ownership and a control position,” GCI Liberty CEO Ron Duncan said in a statement. “For a number of reasons, we have determined that it is not feasible to complete the remainder of the transaction.”

Malone said in a statement that he imagined GCI’s business becoming two units, one focused on the company’s Alaska broadband business, and the second focused on other investments. 

“While regulatory, tax, and structural complexities have complicated and delayed executing that framework fully, I continue to believe strongly in its merit,” he said.

The issue did not come up during GCI Liberty’s annual stockholder meeting, which was also held Monday. Malone did not receive any questions during the eight-minute meeting.

The company also announced May 7 that it was changing its name to Liberty Capital Corporation “in the coming weeks.” The idea is to “reflect our expanded focus at the parent level as we start making investments outside of our core Alaskan operating subsidiary,” Duncan said.

GCI is acquiring Alaska-based fiber provider Quintillion for $310 million. GCI Liberty was spun off from Liberty Broadband last year as Charter acquired Liberty Broadband, which was already a significant shareholder in Charter.

GCI lost 700 cable broadband subscribers in the first quarter of 2026, for a total of 150,500. Duncan said the main factor was people ditching fixed broadband altogether and opting for only mobile connections, in addition to “limited competition from Starlink."