ST. PETERSBURG, FL (970 WFLA) -- HSN, the company formerly known as Home Shopping Network, says onetime rival QVC is acquiring a majority stake, ending HSN's independent existence and removing one of the largest public companies based in the Tampa Bay area.
Both companies say in a joint statement that QVC's parent company, Liberty Interactive, will buy the 62.5 percent of HSN it doesn't already own in an all-stock deal. The release says HSN's headquarters will remain in St. Petersburg. Liberty CEO Greg Maffei says the deal will "enhance QVC's position as the leading video eCommerce retailer."
The news release didn't specify what impact this would have on HSN's workforce. HSN is currently the second largest private employer in Pinellas County, with 2,800 local workers.
The deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2017.
HSN began 40 years ago at a Dunedin radio station, when the late Lowell "Bud" Paxson began selling can openers offered by a delinquent client to pay its radio advertising debts. Paxson partnered with Roy Speer and took the concept to local cable TV operator Vision Cable in 1982, then nationwide three years later.