Cablevision shareholders should hold out 12 Oct 2006 The Dolan family is trying to buy the group without dipping into its pockets, financing the whole shebang with debt. The only way they can get away with this is by cramming down a lowball offer. Investors shouldn t let that happen.
Cablevision is up for grabs 9 Oct 2006 Time Warner might be able to extract synergies and offer a hefty premium. It has already laid the groundwork to do a deal. The Dolans $7.9bn offer puts the firm in play. They don't want competing offers, but independent directors must seek them.
Tribune should avoid private-equity raid 29 Sep 2006 Selling assets like the LA Times and Chicago Tribune piece by piece could unlock substantial value up to $42 a share. A buyout might fetch just $38. The board should capture the difference by liquidating the company in an orderly fashion.
Stock options incentivise the dead 22 Sep 2006 Things only get exciting when we depart this life. There are so many opportunities. You can win medals, or get elected to the US Senate. You can even get married (in France). Cablevision has added to the fun. It s given backdated stock options to a dead man.
YouTube tries to go legit with Warner deal 19 Sep 2006 But other music groups like Universal, which says YouTube owes it tens of millions of dollars, will need to be brought on board. The site's agreement to share ad revenue with the music group in return for carrying its videos looks sensible for both sides.
NY Times should abandon Boston 15 Sep 2006 The Red Sox is not the only Beantown institution lagging its New York counterpart. The Boston Globe newspaper has been a drag on the Times. The Times could conceivably recoup the $1.1bn it paid for the Globe, allowing it to focus on its core franchise, one of the media's best.
Rupert Murdoch kisses a frog 13 Sep 2006 At first blush News Corp s $188m purchase of Jamba, purveyor of the Crazy Frog ringtone, looks, well, crazy. Its revenues are plunging by nearly half as the frog fad fades. But this deal may be a prince in disguise.
Murdoch-Tronchetti deal fraught with complications 12 Sep 2006 Merging Sky Italia into a restructured Telecom Italia would have benefits for both companies, creating a stronger broadband and media group. But who would control it? Would minorities be fairly treated? And would politicians let Murdoch get his hands on a national treasure?
Big Brother to investors: Endemol at risk of a takeunder 7 Sep 2006 Takeover speculation has swirled around the TV producer of Big Brother ever since it listed 10 months ago, pushing up its shares. Much the same happened with another firm part owned by Telefonica, TPI. But it finally sold for less than investors thought.
Vivendi splashes out E1.6bn on BMG Music 6 Sep 2006 At least this deal makes more strategic sense for the French conglomerate than the aborted idea of buying Pages Jaunes. But it still doesn t stack up financially. At first blush, Vivendi appears to be paying away all the synergies and more.
How do you make money from YouTube? 6 Sep 2006 Internet usergenerated video sites like YouTube are generating an astonishing amount of traffic. They haven t yet monetised those eyeballs. But they ll probably find a way just like social networking sites such as MySpace have.
Genting raises stakes with Stanley Leisure offer 5 Sep 2006 The Malaysian conglomerate holds most of the cards in the complex poker game being played out in the UK casino sector. It has blocking minorities in both Stanley and the rival with which it had planned to merge. A bid for Stanley increases its options.
UK free paper launches signal panic in the ranks 4 Sep 2006 Newspaper publishers have reacted to falling sales by trying different delivery platforms from podcasts and websites to freesheets. But the freesheets are being launched into a fiercely competitive market. It s hard to see the payback for the press barons.
Why is Tom Cruise like a Wall St prima donna? 23 Aug 2006 The movie star is going solo like some top bankers. With a personal brand, you don't need backing from a Hollywood studio or Wall St house. But Cruise's hand was forced. Viacom, his business partner, is embarrassed by his behaviour. Still, he may end up making just as much money.
Icahn faces long wait at Time Warner 18 Aug 2006 After failing in his quest to breakup the media giant, Carl Icahn is planning to buy more Time Warner stock. The company looks cheap compared to competitors like News Corp. But a rerating depends on a successful turnaround at AOL.
The digital natives are restless 11 Aug 2006 Media companies have launched a wave of deals in an attempt to grapple with changes in what and how young people use media. But what kids consume is still changing. And how media groups will be paid has yet to be answered.
Charles Allen finally gets the boot at ITV 8 Aug 2006 The drums beating for Allen s head were too loud for the board to ignore. But his departure won t solve all of the UK broadcaster s issues. The management vacuum may even exacerbate them. The board had better line up a hot candidate quickly.
Time Warner milks AOL 3 Aug 2006 By slashing $1bn in costs and making the service free, Time Warner is ending the costly marketing that failed to retain AOL subscribers. Although management claims this will spur growth, it is actually the surest way to maximise AOL's free cash flow.
Pearson still has bags of potential 31 Jul 2006 But Pearson can do a lot more. It has plenty of fat to cut and it might think about selling noncore assets like IDC. Everimproving results at the publishing group may reduce the pressure for the newish chairman, Glen Moreno, to crack the whip.
BSkyB goes for broadband land-grab 18 Jul 2006 The UK payTV group needs to offer free broadband to protect itself from rivals. But it will cost and the returns are uncertain. Even using Sky's own projections, this hardly looks like a financial bonanza in the making.