Liberty Media is buying the Atlanta Braves. As part of the transaction they will wind up with $1.38 billion in cash. The seller, Time Warner, will get $1.84 billion of its stock back. Neither company will pay any income tax on the deal despite the fact that both companies will record gains on the transaction. This is due to a provision of the new tax bill which allows companies to eliminate the need to pay taxes in what is known as a "cash-rich split-off.
It's a very complex transaction, but, suffce it to say that it's another sign that the expression "Nothing is certain but death and taxes" is no longer true, at least if you're talking about big bucks.
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