Publishing

Capital Calls: TCI’s railroading tactics

26 Jan 2022

Concise views on global finance: The fund run by Chris Hohn has settled with Canadian National after a messy battle for the board.

Capital Calls: GM, Hugo Boss, NYT, Frontier tech

4 Aug 2021

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. automaker finds inflation cuts both ways; the German-listed fashion brand hopes to double sales by 2025; advertising is a bright spot for the New York Times; Zymergen vaporized 75% of its value under four months after a $3 bln IPO.

Capital Calls: AMC craziness, Pro lacrosse

2 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The movie-theater chain raised $230 million from a hedge fund, which promptly sold the shares at a profit; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Alibaba's Joe Tsai are betting on the latest U.S. effort to professionalize the preppy sport.

Capital Calls: AT&T’s bankers, Blackstone in Italy

17 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. telecom giant’s unwinding of its purchase of Time Warner is a gift for advisers on Wall Street; a court rules that the U.S. private equity firm’s 2013 purchase of Corriere della Sera’s HQ was valid.

Lagardere breakup can trade power for premium

26 Apr 2021

The Paris Match owner may unwind a legal structure which lets eponymous boss Arnaud keep control. Selling its publishing arm or travel retail stores could add more than 50% to the group’s 3 bln euro value. Investors like Bernard Arnault and Vincent Bolloré are ready-made buyers.

Capital Calls: SXSW

19 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance: Rolling Stone publisher Penske Media is taking a 50% stake in hipster arts festival South By Southwest.

Newspaper bidding war puts ESG on the front page

6 Apr 2021

Beneficent billionaires led by hotelier Stewart Bainum offered $680 mln for Tribune, topping a bid from hedge fund Alden. The white knights want to help U.S. newspapers like the Baltimore Sun find civic-minded owners. Yet price will decide if social good beats capital returns.

Murdoch has good reason to ruin publishing deal

24 Mar 2021

News Corp doesn’t like competitor Bertelsmann’s $2 bln deal for Simon & Schuster and has griped publicly about competition. Now UK watchdogs are probing. Book publishing makes up a fifth of its business. With the field shrinking, Murdoch needs to ensure he’s in pole position.

Capital Calls: Netflix, ECB, Glass Lewis, Zalando

16 Mar 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The streaming service’s password-sharing crackdown twists the knife; the central bank worries about identifying bad loans; the proxy adviser’s sale underscores its place on Wall Street; the online fashion giant’s bold targets.

UK’s Pearson listens to its own online lessons

8 Mar 2021

The 6 bln pound firm is doubling down on a year of virtual learning by selling education directly to individuals. Winning mass-market adherents will take time and is not a given. Yet anything that reduces its reliance on declining textbook sales is a step in the right direction.

BC Partners finds awkward fix for low-tech buyouts

7 Dec 2020

After three failed IPOs, the private-equity firm may sell publisher Springer Nature to a new fund it controls for 6 bln euros, the FT says. It’s messy, but probably better than a botched listing. With public investors wary of sluggish assets, other deals may face a similar fate.

Murdoch lets Bertelsmann pay up for publishing

25 Nov 2020

The German media group will buy Simon & Schuster for an eye-popping $2.2 billion in cash. It already owns the massive Penguin Random House and size gives it more power. But it also means U.S. regulators could thwart the deal, leaving Murdoch an opening.

Corona Capital: Ferrari, E-commerce, Fox

3 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Ferrari leaves its auto rivals in the dust; Russia’s online marketplace Ozon heads for a New York IPO; and Fox avoids the virus-induced advertising drought.

Corona Capital: Binge-watching, Gaming

27 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Streaming viewers like to binge-watch, but they are being stingy; a fresh surge of Covid-19 cases could be a boon for gaming developers.

Corona Capital: Newspaper rivals, College football

17 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: the Wall Street Journal hits up the New York Times’ printing presses; U.S. college football’s Big Ten makes a comeback.

Corona Capital: Dividends, Zoom, Big-screen blues

24 Aug 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: As company bosses try to conserve cash, investors are feeling the pinch; Zoom has a back-to-school problem; and a mediocre debut for Russell Crowe’s new road-rage movie shows Hollywood is stuck in the slow lane.

Corona Capital: Movies, Sports

24 Jul 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Walt Disney is pushing back the highly anticipated movie “Mulan,” with a domino effect for “Avatar” and “Star Wars” sequels; and sport stars are still making it rain when it comes to pay.

Pearson is poster child for post-pandemic activism

12 Jun 2020

Cevian Capital has revealed a 5% stake in the ailing education group, sending its shares up 12%. Though the company lagged under departing CEO John Fallon, it should benefit from a long-term shift to more online learning. Pressure from a patient but persistent activist will help.

Bolloré offers Lagardere costly activist defence

22 Apr 2020

Vivendi, controlled by corporate raider Vincent Bolloré, has taken an 11% stake in the besieged French media company. That may help boss Arnaud Lagardere fend off hedge fund Amber Capital. The reward could be the chance to snap up the group’s prize publishing arm for himself.

Pearson’s excuses are running thin

16 Jan 2020

The publisher’s shares hit a 12-year low after it said 2019 operating profit would miss forecasts. CEO John Fallon and his finance chief, who are both leaving, switched focus from paper textbooks to digital ones. Their replacements will have to work out how to make that succeed.