Big gets bigger: QVC buys HSN in $2.1B deal

ST. PETERSBURG — The Tampa region will be losing a landmark headquarters company with the pending sale of HSN to its No. 1 rival, QVC, in a blockbuster deal announced before the markets opened today.

The parent company of QVC, Englewood, Colo.-based Liberty Interactive, says it has entered into an agreement to buy St. Petersburg-based HSN in an all-stock transaction worth about $2.1 billion. Liberty Interactive had a 38% stake in HSN; if and when shareholders and regulators approve the deal, it will give Liberty Interactive 100% ownership of HSN.

The deal creates a TV shopping giant, with a combined 55,000 hours of video content between the two companies.