Liberty Interactive CEO: Zulily's Growth Trajectory Could Be Very Strong Going Forward, Playing For Long-Term Value

Liberty Interactive Group QVCA and Zulily Inc ZU announced on Monday that the former has agreed to buy the latter for $2.4 billion, valuing Zulily at $18.75 per share.

Greg Maffei, Liberty Interactive president & CEO, was on CNBC post the announcement to discuss this deal.

A Natural Thing To Pay Attention

"We certainly have been watching all the success that Zulily has had, even before they went public," Maffei said. "We know Mark (Mark C. Vadon, Zulily co-founder and Chairman) and Darrell (Darrell Scott Cavens, Zulily co-founder and CEO). We have known them for a while. We have been impressed with what they have done. And as many have commented, Zulily really is the QVC of the internet for a younger generation. So, it was a natural thing to pay attention to and think about."

Zulily's Valuation

Maffei was asked that would Zulily have been worth more today had it not gone public almost two years ago. He replied, "Well, I think Zulily went public to a lot of fanfare and sometimes public company valuations are not necessarily the long-term value. We hope to play for that long-term value. This company [has] an amazing growth track record."

"One of the first retailers ever to reach a billion dollars, fasters $2 billion. And we think that growth trajectory -- well, it may not be as [...] as it was in the early years -- could be very strong going forward and a natural fit with how we work together," Maffei said.