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Media & Entertainment

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.

Blackstone music deal can spare just a cent

3 Jun 2024

Steve Schwarzman’s firm is raising its bid for Hipgnosis Songs Fund by a penny. His private equity firm famously top-ticked the property market and the music deals have similar tunes. While the $1.6 bln price helps, high interest rates make it hard to strike the right note.

Korea’s music industry has more than a BTS problem

31 May 2024

Shares in entertainment firms like Hybe and SME have slumped along with CD sales since members of top K-pop group BTS left for military service. They reunite next year, but a sluggish economy and shaky China sales mean top labels can’t afford to assume business is bulletproof.

Live Nation breakup will leave Swifties unsated

24 May 2024

The $22 bln venue owner and ticketer is being sued by US watchdogs who link Live Nation’s grip on music concerts with sky-high ticket prices. Busting the company in two doesn’t guarantee lower fees. A separate Ticketmaster will probably do fine on its own.

Hollywood is first and last defense in AI war

21 May 2024

Scarlett Johansson is calling on regulators to protect individual rights after she accused Sam Altman’s ChatGPT of using her voice. The actor’s star wattage lends heft to the threat of legislation and litigation. If Tinseltown doesn’t succeed, though, it’s the wild west.

Snap’s AI push makes for a poor man’s Meta

20 May 2024

Boss Evan Spiegel is following the lead of his arch-rival, chasing the same advertisers that flock to Facebook and plowing money into machine learning. Meta stole Snap’s thunder on AI-powered glasses and more. Problem is, Spiegel doesn’t have the resources to turn the tables.

AMC is the worst, and best, of public markets

15 May 2024

The theater chain’s shares leapt 135% on the return of a key 'meme stock' cheerleader. It promptly swapped debt for bubbly equity. For aspiring CFOs, the idea that public markets can randomly spit out cheap capital is tempting. For everyone else, the trade is a loser.

Basketball deal will help settle TV score

7 May 2024

Comcast is trying to steal NBA rights from rival Warner Bros Discovery for its Peacock streamer and NBC network. The indebted owner of TNT and HBO is probably tempted to pass up the $2.5 bln annual cost. But with live sports so pivotal for viewership, it would be a big miss.

How investing in news can make sense

7 May 2024

The media industry has been struggling since the digital era and VC-led initiatives like BuzzFeed and Vice failed. Yet betting on independent outlets can reap decent financial rewards, Harlan Mandel, who runs a specialised impact fund, tells The Exchange podcast.

Comcast’s theme parks are an underrated attraction

29 Apr 2024

The cable conglomerate’s giant Epic Universe resort is finally due to open in 2025. Super Mario and Harry Potter are solid headliners, but the $240 bln enterprise’s valuation suggests investor skepticism about joining the ride. Mixing media and internet makes only so much magic.

TikTok’s fate matters only up to a point for Meta

24 Apr 2024

Under a new US law, owner ByteDance is likely to sell the app without its secret sauce, suffer a ban or win a court challenge. Mark Zuckerberg’s social-media colossus should capitalize on the first two scenarios. Even the third allows it to make decent headway against its rival.

Reliance’s efficiency may be New Delhi’s problem

23 Apr 2024

Completing the rollout of its 5G service helped Mukesh Ambani’s $240 bln oil-to-data conglomerate reduce capex by 7%. That’s good for shareholders. But Modi needs companies to boost spending to meet his administration’s deficit reduction goal without compromising on GDP growth.