Google, Morgan Stanley, create novel options 13 Dec 2006 Google hopes to boost morale by making vested employee stock options liquid and tradeable through an online auction. But the clearest winner is Morgan Stanley, which will snare other business by serving as Google's sole auctioneer.
Albert Frere’s intentions set Paris abuzz 12 Dec 2006 The Belgian financier is a power broker in the SuezGdF merger. He has upped his stake in Lafarge. Markets wonder what he will do next. Frere has E14bn invested in French companies, and more than E3bn in cash to spend. And he has never been known as a handsoff investor.
More to Sky’s swoop than meets the eye 10 Dec 2006 The conventional wisdom is that Sky bought 17.9% of ITV to spoil NTL s bid. But the UK pay TV group may also covet ITV for a content deal. That won t be easy. The regulators are watching Sky like hawks, and ITV would only agree to a deal if Sky offered it juicy economics.
Will Murdoch cede value for control? 7 Dec 2006 News Corp is trading DirecTV and a few other assets to Liberty for a 17% stake in News. This giant buyback will boost Murdoch s stake. But News may be getting a bad deal on the swap. If so, outside investors will end up paying for Murdoch s personal control premium.
ITV episode leaves NTL with tail between legs 6 Dec 2006 True, it s not all bad. The cable group avoids gearing its balance sheet to the limit, and it can focus on integrating recent acquisitions. But it s been outmanoeuvred by Sky. And worse, the failed bid suggests that NTL feels it needs a deal to make its model work.
EMI bear hug would be tough to pull off 4 Dec 2006 Permira is reportedly considering a bear hug. To win, private equity would need to compensate EMI holders for giving up on a Warner deal. The rumoured 310p a share price gives EMI little for this option. A higher price would be needed to break the UK music company s defences.
EMI buyout idea problematic 28 Nov 2006 The best way of private equity making a killing from buying the £2.1bn music group would be by eventually merging it with Warner Music. But if that deal can get through the antitrust authorities, EMI's existing shareholders may be better off keeping the upside for themselves.
Grade may not answer all ITV’s problems 28 Nov 2006 The broadcaster appears on the front foot by pinching the BBC head. Having a big name on board will steady the ship at a difficult time. Investors shouldn t get carried away. Grade s record is mixed. But even if he fails at ITV, he ll be richer than if he stayed at the BBC.
Branson’s string of listed duds bode ill for NTL 24 Nov 2006 The serial entrepreneur s latest quoted flop is Victory , a struggling jewellery business which he plans to delist. Branson s Virgin Mobile was an exception. But he has folded it into NTL a wobbly, highly geared firm. He may yet keep his record intact.
Branson bites the hand that feeds him 22 Nov 2006 The British entrepreneur used to be an arch player of the media game. After all, he built his Virgin empire by courting free publicity. This skill has deserted him now he too is a media mogul. How else to explain his Quixotic tilt at the Murdochs the biggest of all moguls?
Murdoch meets new hurdle: good taste 21 Nov 2006 The media mogul has made a fortune pushing the limits of acceptable standards of decency on television and in print. He met his match with OJ Simpson s fictional tellall If I Did It. But the calculus was economical keep an eye on MySpace.
Branson goes to war with Murdoch 20 Nov 2006 The Virgin boss may be fuming over Sky s swoop on ITV. He is pinning all his hopes on getting the OFT to shoot the deal down. It won t be easy. The OFT would have to show Sky has a material influence over the UK broadcaster, leaving Sky plenty of wriggle room.
Nasdaq’s £2.7bn bid for LSE will be hard to resist 20 Nov 2006 Nasdaq has chosen a cunning moment to pounce on the LSE. Last week s news of fresh threats to European exchanges dented LSE's share price. But shareholders shouldn t bank on much improvement in the £12.43ashare bid. With Nasdaq now owning 29%, the LSE s options are narrowing.
ITV sale warms up with reported RTL bid interest 17 Nov 2006 Sure, investors can't count on an auction developing. The European broadcaster has looked at ITV before and done nothing. But NTL's approach may mean this is its last chance to buy ITV. The fact RTL has assembled private equity backing suggests it's serious.
How on earth would NTL finance ITV? 16 Nov 2006 NTL has a history of raising lots of money in difficult circumstances. But financing the takeover of ITV would take the cake. Assuming they max out their debt capacity, NTL would have to plug a £2.2bn hole. That s not easy for an indebted US listed cable company.
Are Clear Channel shareholders getting a raw deal? 16 Nov 2006 Bain and TH Lee are liquidating the company s assets. Yet the $26.7bn LBO may represent a 15% discount to the value of its parts. Management is letting private equity skim off this cream. Trouble is, investors probably wouldn t have trusted them to do it themselves.
What kind of car does 007 drive? 14 Nov 2006 Everyone knows the answer. That s the power of product placement, which is about to get a boost as the EU relaxes its rules. The move is long overdue. The market in the US is growing fast. European broadcasters could use the extra source of revenue.
NTL adds ITV to its shopping list 9 Nov 2006 Buying ITV would allow the UK cable group to pack a punch in content. That would fill a gap in its quadruple play strategy. But a deal looks complicated. NTL hasn't even finished integrating Virgin. And it's not clear that a deal would fix ITV's advertising woes.
KKR approach underlines Vivendi’s strategic drift 6 Nov 2006 The E40bn friendly offer, which would have kept the French conglomerate whole rather than break it up, might have helped. KKR could have leveraged Vivendi up and provided discipline to its acquisitions. But one also has to ask why Vivendi can t do this itself.
Hollywood should be wary of Borat’s success 6 Nov 2006 The mockumentary starring the offensive fictional Kazakh journalist beat established franchises to take top billing at the US box office. But cult films often have limited appeal. GE s Universal, which is shelling out $42m on Borat s creator s next gig, might not be so lucky.