Citigroup: HSN Could See Bid From Liberty Interactive

Speculation that HSN, Inc. HSNI got some additional stirring Friday when another analyst suggested Liberty Interactive Corp QVCA might make an offer.

HSN, which sells merchandise on TV as well as on the Internet and at brick-and-mortar stores, is 38-percent owned by Liberty and has seen its shares going nowhere year to date.

Citigroup's Jason Bazinet figures Liberty Venture Group will have $2.7 billion in cash by the end of 2014 following its plan to spin-off the QVC shopping network, and figures an offer for HSN could be in the cards.

Bazinet maintained a Buy on HSN and raised his target to $72 from $64.

Craig-Hallum's Alex Fuhrman made a similar call last month, suggesting Liberty "may be laying the foundation for a significant acquisition."

Liberty said last week it will split into two tracking stocks, one for its cable shopping business QVC Group and the other for its digital commerce, Liberty Digital Commerce.

Liberty's current tracking stock, Liberty Ventures Group includes several e-commerce Web sites, and the company's minority stakes in Expedia Inc., Time Warner Inc. and Time Warner Cable Inc.