U.S. trustbusters look blind to media disruption 17 Mar 2016 The Justice Department sued to stop a $56 mln merger of southern California’s largest newspapers, saying a monopoly would result. Yet regulators approved competitively riskier deals involving the likes of DirecTV. It’s as if they never heard of falling readership and ad sales.
CBS exit from radio in tune with the times 16 Mar 2016 The $24 bln broadcaster is mulling a sale of its 117 U.S. stations, just as internet service Pandora may be on the block. The moves could make sense, given stiff competition from the likes of Spotify, waning advertising and other industry disruption. The trick is to find buyers.
Sony-Michael Jackson deal augurs earnings thriller 15 Mar 2016 The Japanese giant will pay the pop singer’s estate $750 mln for its share of their joint venture which owns rights to tunes from Taylor Swift to the Beatles. Sony can then reap all the benefits of the fast-growing streaming market – especially the more profitable older tracks.
China’s soccer field of dreams lacks paying fans 15 Mar 2016 Tycoons and corporate giants are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on local clubs and foreign players. Media groups are bidding up the value of broadcasting rights. To be viable, though, China’s leagues need to attract lots of paying viewers. That’s hardly an open goal.
Viacom’s minority shareholders give up their bark 14 Mar 2016 A “substantial majority” of non-insiders voted to re-elect the media company’s board, including boss Philippe Dauman. That’s despite hand-wringing over strategy, poor returns and Sumner Redstone’s health. It’s a pity: even minority owners can sometimes force changes.
Twitter’s staff handouts add to "profit" flattery 10 Mar 2016 The $11 bln microblog is giving people more stock, and cash, to keep them sweet after losses on shares already granted. Aside from defeating the point of making employees owners, it ensures Twitter’s custom metrics, which exclude stock-based pay, become even less realistic.
Wanda’s U.S. cinema rollup unlikely to get rewrite 9 Mar 2016 An unhappy investor thinks Chinese-controlled AMC Entertainment is underpaying for rival American theater chain Carmike. The 20 pct premium is no blockbuster, but it’s no flop either. And after a year of hawking itself, the $1.1 bln deal may be the best the company could get.
Facebook puts workplace social networks on notice 7 Mar 2016 Mark Zuckerberg’s $300 bln giant is aiming for company business with separate software informed by its 1.6 bln-strong personal platform. Apple quickly dethroned BlackBerry among mobile warriors. Facebook may steal corporate friends from the likes of Yammer, Jive and trendy Slack.
Microsoft boss shows refreshing M&A restraint 4 Mar 2016 Satya Nadella reportedly declined to buy corporate messaging service Slack for an eye-popping $8 bln. The trendy startup may currently be valued at up to $4 bln. Nadella’s caution is an improvement on former CEO Steve Ballmer’s lavish spending on aQuantive, Nokia and the like.
Chinese tycoon’s U.S. movie merger has rare logic 4 Mar 2016 Wang Jianlin’s AMC cinema group will buy American rival Carmike for $1.1 bln. It looks like a rational deal at a sensible price – something lacking from the property magnate’s recent splurge on movie studios, theme parks and soccer clubs. Perhaps financial reality is kicking in.
Cox: Time has come for Zynga to sell the farmville 3 Mar 2016 Liquidating the $2 bln company and returning the proceeds to shareholders is probably the best option at this point. Unfortunately, the once high-flying videogame maker is entirely rigged by founder Mark Pincus. Zynga is a prime example of the problem with super-voting powers.
Wanda finds new financial rollercoaster in Paris 3 Mar 2016 The group run by China’s richest man is already betting on soccer and movies, two famously fickle businesses. Now Wanda and France’s Auchan will build a $3.4 bln leisure complex near Paris. Theme parks can be a pretty wild ride: just look at the French capital’s Disneyland.
AT&T screens TV’s cordless future 2 Mar 2016 In its first big move since buying DirecTV for $49 bln, the U.S. telecom titan is rolling out a video service that bypasses the set-top box. Verizon is selling a similar plan as T-Mobile US allows customers to binge on data. Consider the battle against King Cable fully engaged.
Spotify’s cash hoard signals it’s ready to dance 1 Mar 2016 The digital music service may be about to raise $1 bln of convertible debt, much of it from TPG. That’d hand the private-equity firm an IPO discount without affecting the $8.5 bln valuation from last year’s funding round. It’d also give Spotify firepower to hunt for partners.
Mobile Mario still key to Nintendo’s revival 29 Feb 2016 The console-maker slashed its earnings forecast, blaming a rising yen and weaker sales of devices and games. Currency is a side issue, though. Nintendo’s future rests largely on tapping the huge mobile-gaming market. It has started slowly but has great characters to play with.
Oscars spotlight red carpet for Chinese investors 26 Feb 2016 Tinseltown’s glitziest night is on Sunday, where stars like Leonardo DiCaprio vie for the movie biz’s most prestigious awards. Healthy box-office sales of $11 bln last year belie looming challenges for some studios. Chinese investors are likely to get the runway treatment.
M&A cycle reaches "running out of ideas" phase 23 Feb 2016 Time Inc’s interest in Yahoo’s bits, a Deutsche Boerse-LSE marriage and merger talks - however unlikely – between Honeywell and United Technologies are all variations of deals that have been tried but failed for regulatory and other reasons. They may fare no better this time.
Viacom movie-studio stake sale is only the trailer 23 Feb 2016 CEO Philippe Dauman may sell a minority of Paramount Pictures. It’s a first step for the $15 bln media conglomerate that is under pressure from shareholders unhappy with Dauman’s leadership and Sumner Redstone’s control. Investors will clamor for a much bigger-budget revamp.
Time plus Yahoo conjures ghoulish AOL past 23 Feb 2016 Merging the $1.5 bln magazine publisher with the troubled $30 bln internet company’s core would be much like a smaller version of the epically bad Time Warner deal. Combining print and digital might make more sense now than in 2000. The financial contortions it would take don’t.
Pearson buyout would go beyond textbook 19 Feb 2016 The $9.5 bln education publisher’s relatively clean balance sheet normally might attract private-equity buyers. The trouble for now is reticent debt markets and a stock price that isn’t especially cheap. There also have been duds in the sector. Even so, the math could work.