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Liberty Media Corp. (LMCA), the investment company controlled by John Malone, may be targeting a deal for Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) with its offer to acquire the remaining shares of satellite-radio carrier Sirius XM Holdings Inc.

Liberty is creating a new class of stock, called Series C, and offering 0.076 of a share for each Sirius share, Malones company said in a statement yesterday. The offer will value Sirius at $3.68 a share, which is 3.1 percent above yesterdays closing price, giving it a market value of about $23 billion.

The deal may help fund an offer for Time Warner Cable through Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR), because it will give Liberty more cash flow and additional assets to borrow against, Liberty Chief Executive Officer Greg Maffei said in an interview. Liberty, which owns 27 percent of Charter, has said it wants to keep its stake at about that level.

Sirius XM will generate more cash for Liberty, Maffei said yesterday in a telephone interview. Its still below its target leverage rate, which we might increase. That could be put toward financing a Time Warner Cable deal.

Sirius rose 3.6 percent to $3.70 after the close of trading in New York, an indication investors expect Malones company to increase its offer before a deal is completed. Time Warner Cable rose as much as 4 percent to $138.73 after Maffeis comments. Charter rose less than 1 percent to $134.

Liberty Media Corp. Chairman John Malone.

Liberty Media Corp. Chairman John Malone. Close

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Liberty Media Corp. Chairman John Malone.

Siriuss net debt to trailing 12-month earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was 2.36 as of Sept. 30, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The companys leverage target is 3.5 times Ebitda, which Liberty could boost to 4 times Ebitda, Maffei said.

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Liberty Media Offers to Take Full Control of Sirius XM Holdings