Zulily Up Nearly 50% Following QVC Acquisition Agreement

Shares of Zulily Inc ZU soared higher by nearly 50 percent Monday after the company entered into a definitive agreement in which it will be acquired by Liberty Ventures LVNTA for $18.75 per share.

Zulily, a standalone e-commerce company, will be merged with QVC, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Interactive. According to Zulily's press release, the proposed transaction will "bring two highly complementary businesses under common ownership and further strengthen QVC's leadership position in experiential, discovery driven shopping."

The deal values Zulily at $2.4 billion. Liberty Interactive will pay Zulily shareholders $9.375 in cash and 0.3098 newly issued shares of "QVCA" for each Zulily share. The transaction has already been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Zulily will continue operating as a separate consumer facing brand, but the synergies between the two companies will create "numerous exciting opportunities, including leveraging QVC's global scale, curation, vendor relationships and video commerce expertise at Zulily." At the same time, Zulily's younger customer demographic will "boost" QVC.

"We are excited for Zulily to join the Liberty family," stated Greg Maffei, Liberty Interactive President and CEO. "Darrell, Mark and their team have built an impressive business around entertainment, discovery and value to the customer, which fits perfectly with the QVC philosophy. Combined under Liberty, we have an incredible opportunity to delight shoppers from the TV to the Internet."

"As the world leader in video and eCommerce retail, QVC is dedicated to reimagining shopping, entertainment and community as one," said Mike George, QVC President and CEO. "In Zulily, we see a like-minded brand that shares our passion for discovering great products, for delivering honest value, and for building long term relationships with customers. Our teams are committed to learning from and inspiring each other and leveraging our platforms in new ways to accelerate growth, serve our customers better, and realize the full potential of both of these extraordinary brands."