Publishing

Rohatyn’s values a distant prospect on Wall Street

29 Oct 2010

The Lazard oldtimer and savior of New York reveals surprisingly little of himself in a new memoir but he does exhibit a relatively unobtrusive ego, a love of dealmaking and a distaste for the greed of the 1980s and 2000s. Sadly, his tenets are unlikely to regain much ground.

Hacking row may complicate News Corp’s BSkyB deal

16 Sep 2010

Revelations about illegal eavesdropping by one of the media group's tabloids has drawn attention to Rupert Murdoch's influence in the UK. That may complicate his $19 bln plan to take full control of the payTV operator. A drawnout regulatory enquiry looks increasingly likely.

Blair’s economic policy claims are absurd

1 Sep 2010

Tony Blair, UK prime minister until 2007, asserts in his new memoir not only that he ran economic policy for most of his 13 years in power but that all the best ideas were his. Gordon Brown, his finance minister, made many mistakes, but Blair s version is simply not credible.

Amazon investors have only themselves to blame

23 Jul 2010

The online retailer's shares fell 13 percent after it reported sparkling growth. Shareholders grumbled about costs and margins but investing heavily in the business makes sense. What doesn't is the overly generous multiple the market attached to the stock.

Playboy Mansion could be life of the bid party

20 Jul 2010

After years of fun pairing Playmates with Hollywood's Blist, Hugh Hefner's LA home now warrants more serious consideration. It's among Playboy's hidden assets. To give shareholders a fair shake on a sale of the company, the board may need to push its founder to pay more.

Hef should have his way with Playboy shareholders

12 Jul 2010

The 84yearold founder of the iconic nudiemagazine empire wants to close his smoking jacket on public markets and go private. With a 40 pct premium, voting control and no longterm prospects of beating back the forces of porn, Hefner has investors by the youknowwhats.

Pearson must show it won’t fritter IDC windfall

4 May 2010

The UK media group has got a fair $2 bln for the sale of its 61 pct stake in Interactive Data Corp to private equity. The deal suggests that leverage is back helping buyout firms outgun trade bidders. But a slimmer Pearson now faces questions about its strategic priorities.

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.

Activist could have bad read on Barnes & Noble

2 Feb 2010

Ron Burkle is irked about the bookseller's poison pill and wants to double his 19 pct stake to the same amount as the Riggio family. His governance complaints look valid. But B&N still faces mounting ebook challenges. Burkle may win this battle but lose on his investment.

Still too early to call McClatchy’s recovery

1 Feb 2010

The Miami Herald publisher is marketing $875 mln of bonds. The group has boosted online revenue and slashed costs. But its performance will be hard to maintain without stemming the decline in metro newspaper print advertising. Investors should demand to be paid for this risk.

Amazon’s cash flow flood could dry up

29 Jan 2010

The Internet retailer generated a stunning $2.6 billion in cash from operations in the fourth quarter, and it is plowing $2 billion into a stock buyback. But much of this bounty comes from delaying payment to suppliers that may not be sustainable.

NY Times takes giant step in industry standard

20 Jan 2010

The newspaper publisher will take another shot at making a buck off its online edition starting next year by introducing a paid meter model. While no overnight revenue game changer, the move sets a welcome precedent for ascribing value to premium content.

Carlos Slim succeeds where Murdoch, Zell failed

13 Jan 2010

The Mexican billionaire has done the seemingly impossible: made money in the newspaper racket. His investment in the New York Times a year ago was well timed. By contrast, Rupert Murdoch wrote down most of Dow Jones value and Sam Zell's Tribune went bust.

Borders UK’s demise was written on the wall

27 Nov 2009

Don t blame overleveraged private equity investors or the recession. UK bookseller Borders went into administration for a good old fashioned reason its business model didn t work any more. Online retailers and supermarkets have made life tough for highstreet booksellers.

Informa deal machine goes into overdrive

24 Nov 2009

The UK publisher has another big deal in its sights: the German Springer. The mooted E2.5bln price sounds cheap in some ways. But even with synergies, Informa would need a massive rights issue to pay for Springer. Its acquisitive history will help it get away with such moxie.

Freedom thumbs its nose at capitalism

12 Nov 2009

Freedom Communications, that is. The bankrupt publisher of the Orange County Register is hoisting the interests of its equity holders including the heirs of founder and Ayn Rand follower RC Hoiles over those of creditors. The old man would roll over in his grave.

Yell rides market boom with punchy cash call

10 Nov 2009

The heavilyindebted directories business has managed to get underwriting for an equity issue almost twice the size of its market capitalisation. The UK firm has also avoided a rights issue while limiting the fall in its share price to around 4%.

Yell £4bn refinancing plan deserves lender backing

27 Oct 2009

The UK directories group needs 95% creditor support for a deal to extend maturities and tweak covenants on its debt pile, alongside a £500m rights issue. Yell s business model may be challenged, but the new debt structure seems manageable and the alternatives look worse.

Credit crisis tell-alls look like new mini-bubble

11 Sep 2009

Journalists, exbankers and even officials like Hank Paulson are flooding the market with books on the meltdown. The info glut will make it hard for a new Barbarians to emerge not to mention for publishers to earn back their advances.

Libertarian flag-bearer retreats behind US skirts

31 Aug 2009

A bankruptcy filing by media chain Freedom Communications, named in honour of the code of personal responsibility its founder championed, looks to be another blow to a philosophy now sidelined by massive US government economic interventions.