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Media & Entertainment

Trophy asset extras serve purpose at own expense

27 Aug 2024

Sellers of media properties are in a bind: empires’ charms often appeal to the heart, but not cold financial logic. Perennial tire-kickers – like Edgar Bronfman Jr. who just dropped a run at Paramount – can add FOMO. Problem is, the runner-up’s credibility has a breaking point.

Pity the Paramount common shareholder

20 Aug 2024

Seagram liquor scion Edgar Bronfman Jr. is crashing tech heir David Ellison’s $8 bln bid for the media group, offering to buy out controlling investor Shari Redstone. Other disgruntled voting shareholders play a role. Those without a say get varying degrees of bad options.

Immovable TV empire calls for irresistible force

8 Aug 2024

Warner Bros Discovery took a $9 bln charge on its cable networks, further subverting boss David Zaslav’s woeful 2022 mega-merger. A $40 bln debt pile would give any agitator pause, but the 71% loss in market value and indefensibly high CEO pay are the stuff of investor mutiny.

Disney exhibits anxiety in more ways than one

7 Aug 2024

The emotion pervades ‘Inside Out 2,’ a blockbuster that brightened financial results. It failed, however, to reverse the recent 25% loss in market value amid angst over the $160 bln kingdom’s synergistic magic. Theme-park struggles only slow boss Bob Iger’s quest for joy.

Paris Olympics warrant medal for budget restraint

26 Jul 2024

The French capital has forked out $9 bln on the Games, but compared to some previous hosts the cost overruns have not been excessive. Pre-existing infrastructure helped. Given France’s political ructions and high deficits and debt, such relative sangfroid is well timed.

Murdoch media galaxy would be better with one sun

25 Jul 2024

News mogul Rupert Murdoch reportedly wants to entrench his son Lachlan at Fox and News Corp, rather than spreading power among four siblings. For other shareholders, stability matters; Fox has beaten peers with Lachlan as CEO. Better an emperor than a squabbling committee.

UMG pays steep price for platform addiction

25 Jul 2024

The $42 bln music group’s shares sank by more than 25% on Thursday, falling below their 2021 IPO. Lower-than-expected growth in subscription revenues underlines the company’s painful dependence on pricing decisions made by big players like Amazon or Apple.

Snap may want to disappear from the public markets

22 Jul 2024

The $24 bln social media firm is staking its future in augmented reality with see-through glasses. Taking Snap private would allow breathing room. Even if insider Tencent and boss Evan Spiegel rolled shares, it would require a large check. But potential returns are worth it.

Vivendi only half-solves its valuation discount

22 Jul 2024

The 11 bln euro French media group is spinning off and listing pay-TV arm Canal+ in London and ad group Havas in Amsterdam. It should unleash value. Yet the remaining listed bits, holding media assets and a ragtag of investments, may just suffer from an even more acute markdown.

Netflix and HBO would be a blockbuster duo

18 Jul 2024

A possible breakup of Warner Bros Discovery, owner of 'Game of Thrones' network HBO, could give the $280 bln Netflix a chance to swoop. Buying WBD’s streaming and studios, maybe worth $60 bln, would put Reed Hastings’ content-hungry firm in an even bigger position of strength.

Axel Springer split could suit both parties’ needs

12 Jul 2024

Buyout firm KKR backed an 8 bln euro take-private of the media group in 2019. Now it may get the classifieds unit it likes while CEO Mathias Döpfner keeps news, the FT says. It would unpick an odd governance situation, and the German tycoon could get cash for a US media splurge.

Ambani wedding allows rich Indians to flaunt it

12 Jul 2024

Anant Ambani's Mumbai nuptials this week cap seven months of extravagant, star-studded celebrations. For many in the deeply inequitable country, the family’s public display of wealth sparks aspiration, not anger. Unlike in China, officials are happy for them to show it off.

Paramount deal offers sneak peak of media 3.0

8 Jul 2024

Shari Redstone agreed to pass her family’s empire to rising Hollywood mogul David Ellison’s Skydance. The $8 bln deal, wildly lopsided in their favor, may raise investors’ hackles. Yet it’s a key test of media also-rans’ likely next chapter: supplying content to streaming giants.

EQT’s $3 bln gaming play hits the right buttons

3 Jul 2024

The Swedish buyout shop looks set to clinch video game services group Keywords. The target’s business of translating games like ‘Clash of Clans’ for a wide range of clients helps insulate it from an industry rut. The chunky 96% premium can also make it a high scorer.

GameStop is becoming a poorly run bank

25 Jun 2024

The video-game retailer accrued $4 bln of cash after issuing stock into a renewed meme frenzy. High rates mean it should earn enough interest to paper over losses. Without the shenanigans, GameStop would struggle to operate. Investors would be better served by a savings account.

Online comics IPO will test latest K-wave export

17 Jun 2024

South Korea exported $13 bln of content in 2022. Webtoon’s US listing offers a way to tap into that global audience, but it’s double-edged: the digital comics firm is shrinking at home, despite a rich IP trove and growth elsewhere. Success hinges on whether that tide is receding.

Paramount’s Redstones fall short of the Murdochs

12 Jun 2024

For media’s founding families, the issue of messy generational succession looms large. Just look at the ‘Mission: Impossible’ studio, where Shari Redstone has now killed an $8 bln deal at the eleventh hour. Unlike the Murdochs, Paramount’s dynasty failed to clean up its empire.

Disney Bob Iger sequel slated for HBO owner

10 Jun 2024

The Magic Kingdom’s boss beat back pushy activists including Nelson Peltz. But Warner Bros Discovery has similar issues and a boss, David Zaslav, that is grossly overpaid. With dying cable networks and a struggling streaming service, WBD is ripe for an activist – and a breakup.

Oaktree can still score a skilful goal with Inter

6 Jun 2024

The US fund ended up owning the loss-making Italian club after the previous owner missed a payment. Fetching valuations similar to what Elliott secured for rival AC Milan looks tricky. Yet American interest in soccer and on-field success point to a sale price exceeding $1 bln.