Seth Gilbert, 12-5-2008
Earlier this week, Sumner Redstone sold his majority stake in Midway Games at a substantial loss. He took $100,000 and the assumption of debt in trade for an investment he spent more than $500m accumulating. The decision, many believe, was made in part to help with ongoing negotiations to restructure an $800m loan held by his National Amusements company. Turns out, however, his sales decision may force Midway’s management to renegotiate some debt of their own too.
The Chicago area game company is currently carrying more than $150m in senior convertible debt due in 2025 and 2026. The contractual agreements for these loans, according to SEC filings, included repurchase obligations that are triggered by a material change of control. Redstone’s sale of his 87% stake is just such an event.
Click to Read More
Seth Gilbert, 12-4-2008
The deceleration of the economy and the utter implosion of both the banking and auto industries has officially tipped the dominoes of misfortune to the media industry. The flow of advertising dollars has shrunk. Car dealerships are spending less to promote their products. Banks are buying fewer ads. Historically big spenders aren’t spending. Even celebrity endorsements are falling victim. So…this year, instead of holiday bonuses, many tech and media companies are handing out pink slips.
It’s hard to say whether all the cash conservation and restructuring is truly necessary or if some is just opportunistically timed to squeeze the write-offs and one-time charges into 2008 fiscal year accounting. For a lot of people, that’s irrelevant. This season’s greetings are anything but cheery.
Today, it was media giant Viacom that lowered the hatchet. The parent of MTV Networks, Paramount, BET and Nickelodeon, announced a workforce reduction of approximately 7%, or 850 jobs. Click to Read More
Seth Gilbert, 12-3-2008
In the U.S. NBC Universal and News Corp’s joint video on demand service, Hulu, has proven to be a big success, drawing both audience (Quantcast data) and advertisers. In the U.K., BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4 had hoped to follow a similar path with their own web service, Project Kangaroo (also known as UKVOD). Their route now looks complicated, if not potentially impassable.
Wednesday, after a prolonged review, the U.K antitrust authority, the Competition Commission (“CC”) issued a provisional finding that the joint venture would unfairly restrict competition. Specifically, the CC believes, as currently defined, Project Kangaroo will lessen essential competition in the supply of UK TV Video on Demand programming.
Click to Read More
Seth Gilbert, 12-2-2008
Next to Jerry Yang, Steve Ballmer and Carl Icahn, few names have been mentioned more frequently in Yahoo’s ongoing survival story than Jon Miller. The partner at Velocity Interactive, and former AOL chief (2002 to 2006) was mentioned as an adviser in the failed Micro-hoo combination. In Carl Icahn’s proxy fight he was expected to be a Yahoo board appointee until blocked by a non-compete. Presently, he’s among the leading candidates in the press to assume the Yahoo CEO position. And now, he’s also rumored to be a buyer.
The Wall Street Journal, citing sources “familiar with the matter,” is reporting Jon has been “sounding out” private equity and sovereign wealth funds for months, all in an effort to raise a buyout fund to takeover Yahoo.
The deal being pitched, the WSJ story writes, is a potential acquisition in the rage of $20 to $22 a share.
Is Jon Miller really looking to assemble as much as $30 billion in this market to acquire Yahoo?
It’s certainly possible. Any rumor that passes through the editorial filters and finds its way onto the pages of A-list publications like the WSJ usually has to pass the sniff tests of plausibility. Even so, plausible and probable are sometimes far apart….like here.
Click to Read More
Seth Gilbert,
It takes strength or ingenuity to swim upstream and navigate a strong current. More often than not, companies raising sizable venture rounds in this economic climate are relying on their strength (at least when measured by the scale of prior capital commitments). Last week it was hopeful television visionary Sezmi confirming reports of a $33m round. This week, it is aspiring media empire Huffington Post that’s claiming their due.
In a series C round committed singly from Oak Investment Partners, Huffington Post has reported a $25million draw.
Click to Read More
Seth Gilbert, 12-1-2008
Sumner Redstone has often shown a deft hand in his media investments. Gaming just hasn’t been his thing. Through 2005, he acquired about 87% of Chicago area gamer, Midway. The average purchase price was probably close to $8 a share but, over several years of buying, he paid as much as $20 to $24 a share. In the time since, the company has failed to perform or thrive.
In the quarted ended Sept 30, Midway reported a $76 million loss on revenues of just $36.7 million. Friday, the stock finished at just 38cents a share. With other issues lingering, Redstone hit the eject button. Friday, he reached an agreement to divest his stake entirely – at a fire sale price.
According to regulatory filings, Redstone, his family’s theater holding company, National Amusements Inc., and Sumco Inc. (a company he formed in 2005 to shift debt obligations created in acquiring Midway stock), agreed to sell their 87.2 percent interest in Midway to private investor Mark Thomas.
Click to Read More
Seth Gilbert, 11-30-2008
Black Friday is usually a day of bargain shopping. The gift giving comes later. This year, for Yahoo shareholders, a small present came a little early. Friday, in an SEC required “insider” filing, Yahoo director and major shareholder, Carl Icahn, disclosed he’d acquired an additional 6,778,804 shares of Yahoo stock in three transactions between Monday and Wednesday. The news, which many took as a positive forward-looking omen, helped elevate Yahoo’s stock price.
Trying to look behind Icahn’s decision making, some are speculating his timing may indicate a new CEO announcement is on its way sooner than later. Others have posited different theories.
Assuredly, one certainty is he’s not trading on actual knowledge of a CEO succession plan. Though he’d be in the know as a board member, trading on that kind of insider advantage is illegal.
So maybe, this is a sign Icahn believes liquidity will come sooner now that Jerry Yang has lost his grip? Or perhaps it could be a signal Icahn is hunkering down for the long haul?
Trying to get inside Icahn’s head has never been an easy task.
Click to Read More
Earlier this week, Sumner Redstone sold his majority stake in Midway Games at a substantial loss. He took $100,000 and the assumption of debt in trade for an investment he spent more than $500m accumulating. The decision, many believe, was made in part to help with ongoing negotiations to restructure an $800m loan held by his National Amusements company. Turns out, however, his sales decision may force Midway’s management to renegotiate some debt of their own too.
