EU throws a spoke in Sony-BMG merger 10 Jun 2004 The Commission says the music merger will increase price collusion in an industry which already has too much of it. That s a serious objection, mainly because there is nothing Sony and BMG can do to remedy it. But it won t be easy to prove.
Telecinco IPO is priced to sell 9 Jun 2004 The Spanish broadcaster looks cheap when compared to its media peers; and cheaper still when its growth prospects are taken into account. Why the giveaway price? Its partly because the sellers want a smooth exit; and partly because it is controlled by Berlusconi's Mediaset.
Romiti woes may benefit RCS 8 Jun 2004 The Italian industrial family may come under pressure to sell its 10% stake in the media group that owns Corriere della Sera. If they did, Maurizio Romiti would probably stop managing the poorperforming group. And RCS could get the overhaul it needs.
Blackstone well placed with $1bn New Skies buyout 7 Jun 2004 The private equity firm has avoided overpaying to get a ringside seat in the satellite industry ahead of expected consolidation. Blackstone is probably too late to lead a merger wave. But the New Skies buy gives it a juicy asset to exploit as the sector comes together.
Mail settles for minority Telegraph stake – report 6 Jun 2004 That seems designed to overcome political and regulatory objections. But would it? The Mail could still win control when its private equity partner exited. It would be a coup if it convinced the authorities to back the bid.
Debt is falling but at £809m, the group will become much more highly geared if it wins The Telegraph auction. 3 Jun 2004 Cost management is pushing up national newspaper margins despite advertising and circulation revenue softness.
Vivendi delivers next step of turnaround 27 May 2004 If there had been any slippage, management wouldn't be able to put off demands for a breakup of the French media and telecoms conglomerate. But even with things moving in the right direction, it won't be long before Vivendi has to come up with a credible longterm strategy.
Repair job not over at Emap 25 May 2004 The media group quit the US two years ago to focus on its profitable European core. Now there are problems there too. Turning this round may be slower and harder than selling out in America.
Texas Pacific ploughs ahead with Findexa IPO 25 May 2004 The private equity group has been forced to slash the price and size of the Norwegian directories group offering to get investors on board. That means it won t exit now. But this isn t necessarily a disaster for Texas Pacific.
Vivendi boss should have disclosed bond trades 18 May 2004 Directors who buy securities issued by their own company face potential conflicts of interest. And the same holds for relatedparty deals. There is no evidence that Jean Rene Fourtou succumbed to these temptations. But had he told the market, no one would have raised an eyebrow.
Bertelsmann moves to beef up UK’s Channel 5 14 May 2004 The German media group may not up its 65% stake right away. But it needs to invest more if it wants C5 to survive in a multichannel world. The snag is that there isn t much to buy, and whatever is around won t come cheap.
Faked photo saga reflects badly on Trinity Mirror 14 May 2004 The stock has risen on hopes that the management could reverse the UK tabloid paper s longrunning decline. There s no turnaround and the Mirror is in disarray. The stock s premium to European rivals is unwarranted.
BSkyB hasn’t gone ex-growth 12 May 2004 True, Sky's customer growth slowed in the last quarter. But it still has a stranglehold on a market which has considerable scope for growth. A measured approach to grasping that opportunity means Sky can keep raising margins.
Black saga gets blacker 11 May 2004 The allegations such as Black's wife using company funds to tip the BergdorfGoodman doorman aren't just engulfing the media mogul. There is also a big question: what on earth were the nonexecutive directors doing?
WPP has got the wind in its sails 30 Apr 2004 First quarter revenue figures show that North America and Asia powering ahead, while Europe shows signs of improving Key client sectors like technology and financial services are boosting spending, which may offset expected softer consumption in 2005 First quarter revenue figures show North America and Asia powering ahead, while Europe shows signs of improving. The stock is trading in line with the FTSE 100. It deserves a premium.
Lycos shows apocalyptic value destruction 29 Apr 2004 Now a mooted sale of its US online arm is only expected to fetch $200m. This lesson is worth remembering in the era of Googlemania. When Telefonica bought Lycos for $12.5bn, it hailed the purchase as a big leap. It should have added into the dark .
Comcast drops Disney bid 28 Apr 2004 Better Brian Roberts should suffer the embarassment of backing off than punish shareholders by making a valuedestroying bid. This helps repair the trust Comcast has foregone. But Roberts should go one better and drop his supercharged voting rights, too.
Comcast should scrap Disney bid 26 Apr 2004 The cable group s opportunistic lowball bid isn't going to succeed. It s time to fold and find another target. Comcast timed its approach cleverly, but failed to convince its own shareholders that the target was worth paying up for.
Axel Springer takes lead in Telegraph auction 23 Apr 2004 The fact that Springer has been branded a Nazi company by a UK press baron is a backhanded compliment. It shows the German group has a good shot at winning. It appears willing to pay up and faces few regulatory hurdles.
Seat’s owners still bullish on the stock 16 Apr 2004 The private equity groups that bought 62% of the directories firm had to get rid of a 12% stake because of the covenants imposed by lenders. Although they are sitting on big paper profits, they chose to park the stake with Lehman instead of selling it outright.