Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value

For assets and liabilities required to be reported at fair value, GAAP provides a hierarchy that prioritizes inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels. Level 1 inputs are quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date. Level 2 inputs, other than quoted market prices included within Level 1, are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs for the asset or liability. The Company does not have any recurring assets or liabilities measured at fair value that would be considered Level 3.

The Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value are as follows:



	March 31, 2018				December 31, 2017
Description	Total		Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1)	Significant other observable inputs (Level 2)	Total	Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1)	Significant other observable inputs (Level 2)
	amounts in thousands
Cash equivalents	$	3,524	3,524	—	570,526	570,526	—
Equity securities	$	1,667,642	1,667,642	—	1,800,208	1,800,208	—
Investment in Liberty Broadband	$	3,657,407	3,657,407	—	3,634,786	3,634,786	—
Variable forward	$	86,065	—	86,065	94,807	—	94,807

On June 6, 2017, Qurate Retail purchased 450,000 LendingTree shares and executed a 2‑year variable forward with respect to 642,850 LendingTree shares. The variable forward was executed at the LendingTree closing price on June 6, 2017 of $170.70 per share and has a floor price of $128.03 per share and a cap price of $211.67 per share. The liability associated with this instrument is included in the Other liabilities line item in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The fair value of the variable forward was derived from a Black‑Scholes‑Merton model using observable market data as the significant inputs.

Realized and Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Financial Instruments, net

Realized and unrealized gains (losses) on financial instruments, net are comprised of changes in the fair value of the following:



	March 31,
	2018			2017
	amounts in thousands
Equity securities	$	(131,562	)	211,285
Investment in Liberty Broadband	22,621			526,267
Variable forward	8,743			—
	$	(100,198	)	737,552

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

+ References + Details