Leisure/Hotels

Starbucks’ bars could stick

28 Jun 2010

The coffee chain is taking another cue from McDonald s, which turned from expansion to filling its restaurants during slow hours. Caffeine sells best in the mornings, and now Starbucks is gingerly experimenting with beer and wine in the evenings. It could prove profitable.

E-book market will be hot, flat and crowded

25 Jun 2010

A price war has broken out among producers of digital ereaders thanks to Apple's success with its iPad. Companies like Amazon hope selling tomes across multiple devices will fill the profit gap. But competition in ebook distribution could pressure margins there, too.

Hasbro may not be most profitable LBO plaything

24 Jun 2010

By the numbers, the Mr. Potato Head maker isn t an ideal buyout target. It has iconic kids brands like PlayDoh and Transformers, but the seasonality of the toy business would make it expensive to finance without Monopoly money. Even with big cost cuts, returns would be light.

Blackstone turns back the clock at Center Parcs

4 Jun 2010

The buyout firm may carve out the UK holiday park's real estate and sell a majority stake for 1 bln stg. That sounds like the structure Blackstone unwound when it bought Center Parcs in 2006. Such deals tend to appear when property values are high, and investors too optimistic.

Hoarding Toys may turn out fun for buyout firms

1 Jun 2010

KKR and others are ready to float Toys R Us. It was valued at about $7 bln when it went private in 2005. A standard retail valuation would provide a solid return. But if the current owners can sell a growth story and fetch a premium, their investment would more than double.

American Idol creator gambles on an encore

28 May 2010

Pop impresario Simon Fuller wants the hit TV show back, and has another deep pocket to join his own. The empire is bigger, with Elvis and Ali image rights. But Idol s ratings are in decline and the star of the show just left. Fuller may come to regret a return to the same stage.

Media mogul tries to make lightning strike twice

13 May 2010

Haim Saban rode the Power Rangers to billionaire status, parlaying the tiny kids series into 25 years of mostly smart dealmaking. Now, he s buying the franchise back from Disney at what may be the bottom of the market. Going full circle isn t easy but good timing helps.

EMI investors buy throwaway option on revival

11 May 2010

The UK music group s private equity owner has raised just enough equity to keep creditor Citi from taking control before 2011. Investors rejected requests for more cash. Even so, EMI is now in a slightly better position to pursue an orderly debt restructuring with Citi.

Picasso separates the finance haves from have-nots

5 May 2010

The buyer who paid $106.5 mln for Nude, Green Leaves and Bust was probably an oligarch or hedge fund mogul. The new art price record for Picasso's oneday masterpiece underlines the disparate fortunes of the much recovered financial world and the still limping broader economy.

Shanghai’s big party may leave debt hangover

30 Apr 2010

The $4.2 billion spent on the World Expo, opening today, is double that of 2008's Olympics. Ten times that went on new infrastructure. Yet none of this will really help Shanghai become a financial hub. Large amounts of public funding may worsen the postparty comedown.

Charlie Brown may not have matured just yet

27 Apr 2010

The licensing rights to the beloved comicstrip kids created by Charles Schulz have been sold for $175 million. The valuation suggests the buyers including Schulz heirs think that even after 60 years Charlie Brown and Snoopy still have plenty of spring left in their steps.

Box-office futures risk life imitating Producers

21 Apr 2010

Exchanges to bet on movie ticket sales got regulatory thumbsup. It may provide new ways to hedge but at worst could also make a reality of Mel Brooks cinematic scheme of filmmakers trying to profit from a flop. That scenario may be a stretch, but rampant speculation isn t.

General Growth faces unenviable crossroads

21 Apr 2010

The mall owner s minority holders have been pulled from the abyss. But now, one bankruptcy exit plan involves a large slug of pricey warrants while the other gives Simon, a big rival, a potentially costly blocking stake. Whichever stalking horse wins will bolt with some spoils.

Shaken studio delays tomorrow for 007

20 Apr 2010

The producers of the James Bond movies have put the next film on hold amid MGM s financial woes. Presciently, the Casino Royale baddie in 2006 was a shortseller; maybe the franchise can capitalize on antiWall Street sentiment for the delayed next installment.

3D movie firm IPO should be summer blockbuster

12 Apr 2010

RealD supplies technology behind cinema's hottest ticket, and plans to sell $200 mln of shares in a public float. The firm isn't profitable and the future of 3D remains blurry. But with tech IPOs hot and Hollywood on an Avatar high, investors will want seats at RealD's premiere.

EMI rescue pitch could be a tough sell

8 Apr 2010

The UK music label's owner Terra Firma wants to raise up to 140 million pounds to stop creditor Citigroup seizing control, and to buy time to turn a profit on the 2007 deal. The buyout firm has an EMI revival plan but its assumptions sound rather optimistic.

Cedar Fair investors wisely get off Apollo ride

6 Apr 2010

The theme park operator and the buyout firm both look bad after pulling the plug on their $2.4 billion deal. Given the valuation, shareholders were right to take their chances on a better offer than Leon Black s. But Cedar Fair s board probably needs to deliver one soon.

CKX’s king of content struggles to keep crown

30 Mar 2010

With his personal finances tied up, Robert Sillerman is trying to take his firm which owns the rights to Elvis, Ali and Idol private. CKX shareholders will want a hunky premium, though. That will require Sillerman to put up more equity or lose his grip on the group.

Sin City reveals price of private equity’s vices

26 Mar 2010

Harrah s is outperforming publicly listed rival casino MGM Mirage, and reducing leverage too. But investors still consider Harrah s, owned by buyout firms TPG and Apollo, riskier. Private equity may be paying for its history of piling on debt and walking away in tough times.

Amadeus float offers more buoyancy than Travelport

23 Mar 2010

The Spanish travel bookings firm plans to raise 910 mln euros through an IPO. Amadeus has less debt and a better growth record than rival Travelport, which recently pulled its offering. Its private equity owners are already sure of stellar returns. They should not be too greedy.