Media & Entertainment

DraftKings’ luck tilts odds against short seller

17 June 2021

Hindenburg Research questioned the legitimacy of some of the online-betting firm’s business. Even if proven right, the revenue impact would be small. Like many digital stocks DraftKings looks overvalued right now. But in this market, it’s risky to bet against the momentum.

The Exchange: IAC Chairman Barry Diller

15 June 2021

The media mogul has backed businesses ranging from travel to gambling to dating and more. Plus, he’s behind Little Island, a new park in New York. Diller shares his thoughts on the reopening of the world, IAC’s unique model and why Netflix has already won the streaming war.

Disney has enough magic without Hulu

15 June 2021

The Mouse House is rocketing ahead with its video service, Disney+. So it’s odd that it still owns two-thirds of the less successful Hulu. While Disney can buy the rest of Hulu from rival Comcast from 2024, it might make more sense to sell, and spend the money closer to home.

Chancellor: Bears will survive meme-stock assault

15 June 2021

Short sellers now live in dread that one of their bets, from AMC to GameStop to Wendy’s, will be talked up on WallStreetBets and pounced on by Robinhood day-traders. Many have gone into hiding. But history validates the need to maintain a healthy balance between bulls and bears.

Bolloré and Ackman will beat the Vivendi activists

15 June 2021

Agitators including Dan Loeb own stakes in the French tycoon’s conglomerate. A messy plan to list most of music label Universal, while selling 10% on the cheap to Bill Ackman’s SPAC, gives them plenty to aim at. But Vincent Bolloré’s near-30% control means he has the upper hand.

Drahi can lend BT some financial-engineering nous

10 June 2021

The tycoon has bought 12% of the 19 bln pound UK telco. His track record of selling chunks of fibre-broadband networks to fund faster building is instructive. Doing the same with BT’s investment-hungry Openreach unit would ease cash flow strains and head off competitive threats.

Italian fibre network deal has mountain to climb

9 June 2021

PM Mario Draghi is no longer pushing a marriage of superfast broadband providers. That leaves a deal reliant on market forces. A Macquarie bid inflated Open Fiber’s value to 7 bln euros, near that of more profitable Telecom Italia unit FiberCop. Agreeing a dowry will be tough.

UFC has to earn its valuation belt

4 June 2021

The mixed martial arts powerhouse was valued at nearly $10 billion in deals struck alongside owner Endeavor’s IPO. That’s in line with big-talking UFC boss Dana White’s assessment. It’s a lot pricier than rival sports franchises, though. It could take some big hits to justify it.

Ackman SPAC falls flat with Universal denouement

4 June 2021

After sniffing at Airbnb and Bloomberg, the billionaire’s blank-cheque firm may instead buy 10% of the music label for $4 bln. It’s a fair price but Universal was going public anyway. And Bill Ackman’s “Tontard” acolytes could get it cheaper simply by buying its parent, Vivendi.

AMC’s valuation is a date with derangement

3 June 2021

The cinema chain’s adoption by speculative stock traders has pushed its valuation up to $37 billion. That might make sense, if AMC can entice an extra 360 million couples to share a movie and snacks, quadrupling revenue from 2019’s level. Investors are seemingly in La La Land.

AMC traders open the Greater Fool portal

3 June 2021

Retail investors have propelled the cinema chain’s market value to over $30 billion and its stock price to a level more than 15 times Wall Street’s median target. The company is now selling more stock while warning investors against buying it. The alternate reality can’t last.

Capital Calls: AMC craziness, Pro lacrosse

2 June 2021

Concise views on global finance: The movie-theater chain raised $230 million from a hedge fund, which promptly sold the shares at a profit; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Alibaba's Joe Tsai are betting on the latest U.S. effort to professionalize the preppy sport.

End the Olympics once and for all

2 June 2021

The Tokyo games are a Covid calamity. Beijing as 2022 host is turning into a bitter referendum over human rights. Pierre de Coubertin’s noble mission has been corrupted, distorting sports and urban economies. Sponsors and athletes have other options. Pass the torch elsewhere.

Star’s stack looks too short to win Crown deal

31 May 2021

The Aussie casino operator’s $7 bln offer interested its larger rival, unlike the Blackstone bid that was dubiously spurned. Star’s proposal is less than it’s cracked up to be, however, and there’s little wiggle room to improve it. Only gaming regulators can help its cause.

Sparks fly around China’s reluctant dating app

28 May 2021

Tencent-backed Soulgate, aiming for a U.S. IPO, targets youths who want to socialise non-romantically and anonymously through virtual avatars in a gamified network. It feels like more of a pick-up place. That unhealthy tension is as much of a turn-off as its ballooning net loss.

Capital Calls: Airbus signals liftoff, Bill Gates

27 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: The global aircraft industrial complex got a boost after the European plane maker said it hopes to churn out more of its A320 short-haul workhorses per month than expected; Microsoft founder’s huge private investment vehicle under scrutiny.

Amazon pays to take MGM chess piece off the board

25 May 2021

Jeff Bezos’s $9 bln potential movie studio deal puts a huge premium on MGM. And it could get caught in regulatory purgatory. But Amazon would take a coveted asset off the streaming market. Meanwhile, the $1.6 trln e-commerce giant has time to catch up to media rivals.

Capital Calls: “Friends” reunion, SPACs in D.C.

24 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: AT&T's HBO Max is streaming a delayed 25-year reunion of the popular sitcom cast just as the company ditches its media assets; busybody U.S. Congress is taking a hands-off approach to blank-check firms.

Difference between AT&T and Comcast: deal hubris

21 May 2021

Both the U.S. telecom firm and cable company used M&A to somersault into media and distribution. Now AT&T is U-turning by ditching Time Warner, yet Comcast is humming along with NBC Universal. For all AT&T’s labors, it’s hard to come back from an expensive, ill-timed acquisition.

WarnerMedia’s leading man springs a pay trap

20 May 2021

AT&T paid Jason Kilar too handsomely to run its media division a year ago. Now that the telecom company is merging WarnerMedia with Discovery, he may want even more to stick around. Whether he walks or stays, the new company to be led by Discovery's CEO could face a pay showdown.