Media & Entertainment

Saudi’s sports M&A splurge will get smarter

18 Dec 2024

The kingdom has so far focused on mature markets like golf and men’s soccer, including spending $400 mln on English team Newcastle. Rugby and women’s soccer arguably have greater growth potential. Saudi will make the switch in 2025 and provide some much-needed investment.

Vivendi’s discount haunts Bollorés post-breakup

17 Dec 2024

The media group split in four to shed a conglomerate valuation penalty. The bits are now collectively worth just 8 bln euros, implying no upside from the move. One lesson is that the discount was always down to the controlling Bolloré clan’s influence rather than the structure.

Warner Bros Discovery re-enters the spin zone

12 Dec 2024

Boss David Zaslav engorged his media empire by merging with a rival’s broken-off business. Corporate restructuring sets him up to reverse the trick. A full roster of bank advisers and moves by peers imply dying TV networks are due a reshuffle. Doing so could add $20 bln of value.

Lack of M&A is squeezing Britain’s media old guard

2 Dec 2024

The Telegraph newspaper wants a new owner but is struggling to get one. And $3.5 bln broadcaster ITV isn’t courting a deal, but probably should. Government intervention, or the threat of it, is a blocker in both situations, risking a continuation of the lacklustre status quo.

Dish deal collapse would torch massive windfalls

22 Nov 2024

DirecTV ended plans to buy its satellite rival as owner Charlie Ergen refuses to haggle with bondholders balking over a $1.5 bln discount. He’ll be stuck with $10 bln of debt, creditors get left on shaky ground and synergies worth $8 bln vanish in an epic lose-lose-lose.

Comcast rescripts its stale convergence plotline

20 Nov 2024

The $160 bln cable operator is spinning off CNBC and other networks while heralding integration. In truth, it’s a concession that the logic behind its bold NBC Universal deal has changed. At $12 bln, per Breakingviews estimates, the unit is small but nevertheless significant.

Charlie Ergen drowns in two kinds of debt

15 Nov 2024

The EchoStar founder may lose a deal to merge his satellite TV service Dish with rival DirecTV after bondholders balked at a $1.5 bln haircut. Years of bidding up assets and finagling the financial burden has tried creditors’ patience. It would be wise to come to the table now.

Disney’s new storybook omits Dumbos in the room

14 Nov 2024

The Magic Kingdom uncharacteristically unveiled three-year targets, including a 10% operating margin for Hulu and Disney+. It’s a bold plan that glosses over troubled TV and streaming-service upheaval. Even more curious: the outlook extends beyond Bob Iger’s run as CEO.

John Malone M&A cleanup costs minority investors

14 Nov 2024

The famed cable dealmaker’s empire is reshaping itself, as giant Charter strikes a $13 bln agreement for Liberty Broadband. It’s mostly about the buyer getting back a lump of its own shares, at an 11% discount. The transaction is great for everyone except selling shareholders.

Reality-TV president will co-produce media shakeup

8 Nov 2024

Spotify star Joe Rogan and newspaper baron Jeff Bezos offered glimpses into how the industry is evolving. Broadcasters are also up against fickle consumers inundated by pricey streaming choices. The business models and deals taking shape can now expect input from Donald Trump.

Verizon would be wise to hold on $20 bln deal

4 Nov 2024

Two big investors claim that broadband builder Frontier is worth more than what the wireless titan is paying for it. The numbers already look shaky and there’s no other suitor, so there’s little reason to sweeten the bid. The fraying fiber transaction is better left to unravel.

Vivendi activist’s critique falls on deaf ears

1 Nov 2024

Pushy fund CIAM reckons a planned carveup of the 10-bln-euro media empire favours the controlling Bolloré clan. That’s true. Yet the split at least eases a conglomerate discount. And since voting it down would be a leap into the unknown, investors will probably just stay in line.

Axel Springer boss is media’s key consolidator

28 Oct 2024

Mathias Döpfner will soon have up to 4 bln euros to spend on M&A. If the long-term Axel Springer boss is just after storied brands, Murdoch assets like Dow Jones may be in play. But with the obvious targets tricky to pull off, he may equally train his sights on AI or data.

Investors will keep Ari Emanuel in the boxing ring

24 Oct 2024

The Hollywood super-agent is selling a bull riding franchise from Endeavor to TKO for $3 bln. The price is hard to justify, and shareholders are throwing tomatoes at the deal. While stuffing the assets together makes sense, it adds a complexity to an already convoluted match.

Walt Disney takes mouse-sized governance step

21 Oct 2024

The $175 bln Magic Kingdom named ex-Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman as its next board chair. Finding boss Bob Iger’s successor has been a disaster, but at least the man in charge of the job has shown himself capable of doing it. Minimizing the drama, though, will be tough.

Netflix valuation is a goal stretched too far

18 Oct 2024

The $300 bln streaming giant’s share price has hit new highs. Yet ad dollars are not meaningful and a crackdown on passwords will run out of steam. To keep its lofty stock price climb, Netflix will have to double its revenue in three years - a reality hard to script.

Filmmaker’s SPAC deal stages Oscar-worthy horror

4 Oct 2024

Angel Studios is going public at a $1.6 bln valuation with scary self-dealing and bitcoin featured. It also lost its biggest show, owes damages to Disney and courted controversy with child-trafficking movie “Sound of Freedom.” Even seasoned blank-check pros will be spooked.

AT&T and Dish turn lemons to bitter lemonade

30 Sep 2024

TPG is buying DirecTV from the telecom firm for $8 bln and merging it with its pay-TV rival. Both of the sellers have stumbled through costly, over-complicated dealmaking, leaving Charlie Ergen’s Dish parent on the brink. The buyout shop is extracting its price to help clean up.

John Malone wrangles runaway US cable mess

24 Sep 2024

The media mogul’s wheeling and dealing has left Liberty Broadband trading at a big discount to its assets. A mooted $14 bln share swap with internet provider Charter should unwind the fiendish complexity. Even better for him, the strategic quandary will be someone else’s problem.

Axel Springer split gives M&A freedom to news unit

19 Sep 2024

The company’s media assets, like Bild and Politico, will go to a group including CEO Mathias Döpfner in a $15 bln breakup, while KKR gets the classifieds division. The buyout firm has the most valuable bit, but mogul Döpfner gains a debt-free balance sheet with an eye on deals.