(3) Disposals

On August 27, 2014, Liberty completed the spin-off to holders of its Liberty Ventures common stock shares of its former wholly-owned subsidiary, Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, Inc. (“TripAdvisor Holdings”) (the “TripAdvisor Holdings Spin-Off”). TripAdvisor Holdings is comprised of Liberty’s former 22% economic and 57% voting interest in TripAdvisor, Inc. as well as BuySeasons, Inc., Liberty’s former wholly-owned subsidiary, and a corporate level net debt balance of $350 million. In connection with the TripAdvisor Holdings Spin-Off during August 2014, TripAdvisor Holdings drew down $400 million in margin loans and distributed approximately $350 million to Liberty. This transaction has been recorded at historical cost due to the pro rata nature of the distribution. Following the completion of the TripAdvisor Holdings Spin-Off, Liberty and TripAdvisor Holdings operate as separate, publicly traded companies, and neither has any stock ownership, beneficial or otherwise, in the other. The condensed consolidated financial statements of Liberty have been prepared to reflect TripAdvisor Holdings as discontinued operations. Accordingly, the revenue, costs and expenses, and cash flows of the businesses, assets and liabilities owned by TripAdvisor Holdings at the time of the TripAdvisor Holdings Spin-Off have been excluded from the respective captions in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive earnings and cash flows in such condensed consolidated financial statements. Additionally, TripAdvisor, Inc. and BuySeasons, Inc. are no longer reflected in the segment financial information for all periods presented.

In connection with the TripAdvisor Holdings Spin-off, Liberty and TripAdvisor Holdings entered into a tax sharing agreement (the “Tax Sharing Agreement”).  The Tax Sharing Agreement provides for the allocation and indemnification of tax liabilities and benefits between Liberty and TripAdvisor Holdings and other agreements related to tax matters.  Among other things, pursuant to the Tax Sharing Agreement, TripAdvisor Holdings has agreed to indemnify Liberty, subject to certain limited exceptions, for losses and taxes resulting from the TripAdvisor Holdings Spin-Off to the extent such losses or taxes result primarily from, individually or in the aggregate, the breach of certain restrictive covenants made by TripAdvisor Holdings (applicable to actions or failures to act by TripAdvisor Holdings and its subsidiaries following the completion of the TripAdvisor Holdings Spin-Off).

In October 2014, the IRS completed its examination of the TripAdvisor Holdings Spin-Off and notified Liberty that it agreed with the nontaxable characterization of the transaction.  Liberty executed a closing agreement with the IRS documenting this conclusion during the third quarter of 2015.

Certain combined financial information for TripAdvisor Holdings, which is included in earnings (loss) from discontinued operations, is as follows (amounts in millions, except per share amounts):

Earnings per share of discontinued operations

The combined impact from discontinued operations, discussed above, is as follows:

The assets and liabilities included in the TripAdvisor Holdings Spin-Off, and their resulting impacts on the attributed statements of operations, were included in discontinued operations based on which group owned the assets at the time of the TripAdvisor Holdings Spin-Off.

Provide was included in the Digital Commerce companies prior to the sale of Provide to FTD on December 31, 2014 in exchange for cash and shares of FTD common stock representing approximately 35% of the combined company (see note 8 for additional information related to this transaction). Subsequent to this transaction, the Company’s interest in FTD, accounted for under the equity method, is included in the Digital Commerce companies. Given Liberty’s significant continuing involvement with FTD, Provide is not presented as a discontinued operation in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

On June 30, 2015, Liberty sold Backcountry for aggregate consideration, including assumption of debt, amounts held in escrow, and a noncontrolling interest, of approximately $350 million.  The sale resulted in a $105 million gain, which is included in “Gains (losses) on dispositions, net” in the accompanying condensed consolidated statement of operations.  Backcountry is included in the Digital Commerce companies through June 30, 2015 and is not presented as a discontinued operation as the sale did not represent a strategic shift that has a major effect on Liberty’s operations and financial results.  Included in revenue in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations is $97 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014,  and $227 million and $308 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively, related to Backcountry.  Included in net earnings (loss) in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations are losses of $2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014, and losses of $3 million and $6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively, related to Backcountry.  Included in total assets in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2014 is $323 million related to Backcountry.