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.
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Seth Gilbert,
Blockbuster wants to be your entertainment superstore. They’ll sell you electronics, rent you a movie or now, even get you into a concert.
Today, Blockbuster and Live Nation announced a three year deal to make Blockbuster the brick & mortar retail outlet for Live Nation’s soon to be launched concert ticket service. 500 stores in cities home to Live Nation operated venues will take on the new sales task.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Seth Gilbert, 11-26-2008
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"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence." ~Ansel Adams |
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"Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man."
~Edward Steichen
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Life magazine was born of the great depression and through much of the 20th century itserved as a key benefactor to the development of modern photojournalism. The magazine chronicled the civil rights movement, the lunar landing. It was in the offices of presidents and the cells of pariahs. It was the stage of actors and activists. Its pages host to famed writers and legendary photographers – from Ernest Hemingway to Gordon Parks.
Through the years, Life survived some of the world’s most violent upheavals. It soldiered through two world wars, a presidential assassination and a shamed resignation. What the magazine couldn’t outlive, or keep pace with, was western society’s evolution to a media culture. First diminished by the image-overload of the television age, then crippled by an influx of competitive image centric and niche-specific magazines, Life Magazine finally succumbed to the Internet Information Age last year.
On April 20th, 2007, after four years on life support as a newspaper insert, Life Magazine quietly passed. In the media, we said our goodbyes and delivered our eulogies.
Fortunately, in the information age what’s gone need not be lost or forgotten. And that is the case with Life’s image library of more than 10 million pictures.
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Seth Gilbert, 11-25-2008
In every business, there’s a select group of people guaranteed to lure a following when they speak. Typically war tested and battle scarred, these are people that have been there. People that, over years and decades, have weathered the battles and cultivated experience. People that offer the prospect of insight only time can yield. Rupert Murdoch is one of these people.
If you’re in the media industry and want a perspective, Rupert’s one of your dream dinner table guests. He took the helm of his first newspaper at 22 and in a lifetime of deal making he grew it into a global media powerhouse. With News Corp, his holdings span TV, cable, print, film, internet, satellite and they travel around the globe.
Unfortunately, Rupert Murdoch isn’t someone you can call up and ask to share a few stories or pointers. That is out of the question. Luckily, there’s ample supply of soundbytes, especially this month.
Every year for the past 48, Australia’s ABC Radio National has broadcast a series of lectures from a prominent Australian. This year’s speaker in the 49th annual Boyer Lecture series is none other than Rupert Murdoch. Through the span of November and December, he’s delivered a total of four themed talks. Another two will air through December 7th.
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