Publishing

Publicis shows WPP benefits of smooth succession

19 April 2018

The French group last year bumped longstanding boss Maurice Lévy up to the chairman’s suite. New broom Arthur Sadoun has, under Lévy’s guidance, revamped the strategy and revived growth. That is a lesson for its UK rival, which lost CEO Martin Sorrell without any obvious heir.

Apple acquires goodwill of flag-waving publishers

13 March 2018

The $925 bln iPhone maker is buying a digital subscription service for magazines like Rolling Stone originally founded to counter Apple’s onerous terms. The tech giant gets to play white knight to the challenged print industry, while buttressing its attempts to grow fee income.

Lagardère portfolio needs heavy editing

9 March 2018

Shares in Elle magazine’s publisher fell 7 percent after a sharp drop in 2017 free cash flow. Boss Arnaud Lagardère is promising disposals. That may be necessary to prop up future dividend payments. He only deserves credit when he reveals how much will be sold and at what price.

Thomson Reuters deal puts financial over risk

30 January 2018

The Canadian group is in talks to sell 55 pct of its data and analytics business to Blackstone at a $20 bln valuation, including debt. That implies a market discount for the remaining legal and tax arms. Carving up the company may end a run of lagging peers’ stock performance.

Pearson investors need their homework checking

17 January 2018

The $8 bln education publisher’s revenue has stopped cratering after it stemmed a decline in sales of U.S. textbooks. The relief may be temporary. Colleges are shifting to cheaper course materials and a price war is looming. That is hard to square with a rich valuation.

Review: “The Post” gets more relevant by the hour

12 January 2018

Steven Spielberg's cinematic retelling of the publication of the Pentagon Papers feels rushed at times, and the nostalgia for a bygone newspaper business is maudlin. But such flaws are easy to forgive as current events emphasize the necessity of a free – and profitable – press.

Bannon woes gift Rupert Murdoch a Happy New Year

5 January 2018

Fresh from his Disney deal, the media mogul may benefit from a new book about White House dysfunction. The exposé is ripping apart the alliance between President Trump and his former aide and Breitbart News boss. That may hobble a major rival just as Murdoch launches New Fox.

Can carmakers think outside the self-driving box?

19 December 2017

Renault is investing in a magazine publisher, targeting the extra leisure time people will have in driverless cars. Breakingviews imagines the pitch from an M&A banker eager to encourage auto executives to buy other autonomous-vehicle beneficiaries, from music to alcohol. Sincerely.

Disney is Death Star for Europe’s telco media fad

14 December 2017

The "Star Wars" producer’s acquisition of Fox includes pay-TV business Sky, giving it more firepower and better content. European telecom groups like BT are struggling to justify investment in sports rights and content. Disney’s arrival may force some to make a necessary retreat.

Review: Firm ideas for a world of soft assets

1 December 2017

Modern economies are increasingly built on intangible factors like research and development and software. "Capitalism Without Capital" shows how this trend contributes to problems like rising inequality. But it stops short of tackling the rising dominance of big tech groups.

Slim chance of Kochs taking over Meredith media

28 November 2017

The campaigning U.S. billionaires are investing $650 mln in Meredith so the publisher can buy Time Inc. The Kochs get prefs with an 8.5 pct dividend but no board seats. Like Carlos Slim’s loan to the New York Times, the likely returns look more financial than political.

China Literature must summon army of Harry Potters

10 November 2017

Tencent’s online publishing arm has 6 mln writers peddling pulp. To justify a $12 bln valuation after a first-day pop, it has to find lots of J.K. Rowlings among their ranks, then conjure value by transmuting their tales into hit films and games. That reads like fantasy fiction.

Hong Kong’s IPO market is turning Chinese

8 November 2017

China Literature smashed the chandeliers in its $1.1 billion Hong Kong debut, soaring more than 80 pct in early trade. As local punters swarm into mainland tech, the new-issue market is mimicking distortions common in China. For the exchange, it's a good problem to have.

Tencent’s books are less gripping than its games

24 October 2017

Publishing unit China Literature wants to list in Hong Kong at a value of up to $6.4 bln. Sales and earnings are taking off. But e-books are less lucrative than online games, with a smaller market and a shorter track record. This does not merit a valuation to match its parent.

Pearson’s improved report card could be erased

17 October 2017

The education publisher issued a slightly more optimistic forecast for operating profit and said its U.S. textbook business is unlikely to repeat its catastrophic 2016. But Pearson has misread its key market before. The shift to digital publishing still looks painful.

Review: Black Monday infamy obscures 1980s excess

13 October 2017

In “A First-Class Catastrophe” journalist Diana Henriques argues the 1987 stock-market crash should have prompted smarter regulatory overhaul. She has a point. But scandals earlier in the decade she covers – and some she doesn't – were the real missed opportunities for reform.

Review: How Murdoch’s news revolution devoured him

22 September 2017

The play “Ink” dramatises the tycoon’s populist assault on Britain’s cloistered media after buying the Sun in 1969. It’s a deft history of the press culture that eventually led to the phone hacking scandal. These days Rupert Murdoch’s empire is the one at risk of disruption.

Review: Dalio writes ultimate baby boomer’s guide

15 September 2017

The Bridgewater founder is true to his generation. He wants you to decide what you want and help you get it. To that end he offers his life and work principles – all 525 of them. It's a bid for immortality, like the algorithm he's designing to run his $160 bln hedge fund.

Murdochs pay price for governance scandals

12 September 2017

Fox’s bid for Sky may be delayed after a minister questioned whether phone-hacking and harassment scandals could hurt broadcasting standards. It raises the risks of an awkward investigation. Worse, the UK’s volatile politics could shift further against Fox owner Rupert Murdoch.

Brexit-defying UK newspaper tie-up makes odd sense

8 September 2017

The publisher of the left-wing Daily Mirror may buy the anti-EU Daily Express. Trinity Mirror’s prior print purchases have boosted margins despite falling revenue, and a mooted 130 mln pound price is affordable. Pension liabilities, not politics, may be the main sticking point.