Merrill makes Bloomberg Manhattan’s richest man 17 Jul 2008 Selling its 20% stake in Bloomberg LP pegs the Mayor s wealth at $15bn. But that s deceptive. Merrill is a distressed seller, financial media assets have plunged and there s no control premium. Tack these on and Hizzoner s wealth balloons.
Trinity Mirror woes foretell newspaper revolution 16 Jul 2008 The UK newspaper group s shares are now 90% off their oneyear high. Advertising is going off a cliff and traditional media stocks are struggling to raise capital. Plugging dividends is a shortterm cash conservation priority. Longterm, newspapers face a radical overhaul.
ITV bidders should bide their time 14 Jul 2008 BSkyB s 17.9% stake in the troubled UK broadcaster could be on the market soon, thanks to the regulator. Potential acquirers are thought to be circling. But while they might be tempted to launch a bid for the whole company right away, a more tactical game makes sense.
Blogs find buyers through diversification 11 Jul 2008 Guardian Media Group snapped up mediacentric blog Paidcontent for over $30m. That s a lot for eyeballs. But smart blog entrepreneurs have discovered how to attract buyers to their hardtovalue business model: Do more than just provide content.
WPP sets the bar for GfK 9 Jul 2008 Sir Martin Sorrell s hostile 260pashare offer for TNS has undone GfK s agreed merger with the UK market researcher. The German group says it s now eyeing a fullcash approach. Yet, until and unless, GfK tables an improved bid, WPP remains the bid to beat.
Prisa caught out by expensive pay-TV buy 19 Jun 2008 The Spanish media group stretched its balance sheet to the limit to buy control of Sogecable. Lenders have given it a month of muchneeded breathing space, but there may be no painfree ways to cut its E5bn debt mountain down to a manageable size.
Spielberg deal could stretch Anil Ambani thin 18 Jun 2008 Providing the subcontinent with power, financial services and telecoms hasn t satisfied India s $40bn man, who s adding Africa to the mix. Now, he may bankroll Steven Spielberg s movies. He looks spread thin.
Private equity interest may signal Informa break-up 18 Jun 2008 The UK media group should be happy that nilpremium merger talks with the advertisingdriven and cyclical UBM are over. Informa deserves a premium bid. It s now talking with private equity groups. They may pounce if they can carve up Informa s distinct businesses between them.
Icahn holds strong hand for Yahoo fight 14 May 2008 The activist is accumulating a position in the troubled internet company. With support from Yahoo s biggest shareholders, he d be well positioned to shake up the board and prod boss Jerry Yang into action even a sale.
Cablevision’s newspaper deal may be a boondoggle 12 May 2008 The cable company is paying $650m for Long Islandbased newspaper Newsday. That s $70m more than Murdoch or Daily News owner Zuckerman bid and either could have reaped synergies in production and sales. Cablevision doesn t have such advantages. Its investors should worry.
Disney’s stock could be a national treasure 6 May 2008 The media conglomerate looks fairly priced against its competitors. But its individual divisions are mostly top of the line. And Disney has one content gem: ESPN. Add it up with a sprinkling of fairy dust, and Disney's stock could turn out enchanted.
Thomson Reuters launch does not compute for arbs 17 Apr 2008 Arbitrageurs who hoped to make a killing from the debut of Thomson Reuters, the new dual listed business information giant, have been disappointed. The discount between the London and Toronto quotes has not narrowed as expected and it may continue to disappoint.
Setanta’s £1bn price tag proves just too greedy 7 Apr 2008 The Irish statellite broadcaster's investors stood to double their money in two years if they found a buyer at the mooted £1bn asking price. It was a nice try. But with Setanta's lucrative UK football rights up for auction this year, no wonder bidders melted away.
New York Times should open up to activists 12 Feb 2008 Hedge funds Harbinger and Firebrand plan to nominate 4 directors to the board of the familycontrolled newspaper group. Rather than engage in a fight it will almost certainly lose with angry investors, the company should reach a truce and take on two of the activists' directors.
Silver lining for BSkyB in costly ITV ruling 29 Jan 2008 The satellite TV broadcaster faces a £250m hit the loss on a forced sale of 10% of terrestrial rival ITV. It s a blow to profits, but it may pay off in the long term, if it helps Sky fend off potentially costlier regulatory intervention over its dominant position in payTV.
Murdoch Monster bid might make sense 10 Jan 2008 News Corp. denied it has made a $4.8bn bid for the employment website. But it s not a bad idea. Online classified ad machines like Monster have gutted one of the newspaper industry s best business lines. Purchasing Monster might be a sweet form of revenge for the newspaper baron.
Sarko’s civilisation plan flawed 9 Jan 2008 The French president wants to create a sort of French BBC at a time when the UK is debating the effectiveness of a dedicated public service broadcaster. Sarko has better ways to achieve his aims. The current plan merely stands to benefit his friends at private broadcaster TF1.
Is Wall Street wrong about a Time Warner break up? 9 Jan 2008 New chief Jeff Bewkes has taken the helm at the media conglomerate. Analysts believe it needs to be broken up. But that might not create much value. Deep cost cuts and greater integration as envisioned by the AOL deal might be a better way forward.
Sarko has bad idea for protecting French companies from takeover 9 Jan 2008 The French president wants to use Caisse des Depots, the stateowned bank, to defend French companies against foreign takeovers. This barelydisguised, defeatist protectionism will mostly hurt French companies and their shareholders.
Murdoch bets on Premiere recovery 8 Jan 2008 The German payTV broadcaster is trying to regain exclusivity on the lucrative Bundesliga football broadcast rights. News Corp s purchase of 15% of Premiere is a vote of confidence. James Murdoch s first big move in his new job looks smart.