Comcast trying to buy Disney

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

NEW YORK - Cable television systems giant Comcast Corp. proposed early Wednesday to buy Walt Disney Co., the iconic media and entertainment powerhouse that owns the ABC and ESPN television networks, movie studios and theme parks, for stock valued at about $54 billion.

 

The nation's biggest cable systems operator said it would also take on $11.9 billion in Disney debt to push the total value of the deal to $66 billion.

 

"This is a unique opportunity for all shareholders of Comcast and Disney to create a new leader of the entertainment and communications industry," said Comcast President and Chief Executive Officer Brian L. Roberts said in a statement.

 

Comcast also released a letter sent to Disney chief executive Michael Eisner indicating that Eisner had personally rejected Roberts' offer earlier in the week.

 

The letter from Roberts called it "unfortunate" that Eisner was not willing to enter into discussions about the proposed deal. "Given this, the only way for us to proceed is to make a public proposal directly to you and your Board," the letter stated.

 

Under the merger, Comcast said it would issue 0.78 of a share of its stock for each Disney share, and Disney shareholders would retain 42 percent of the combined company. The deal would give Disney shareholders a premium of more than $5 billion, based on Tuesday closing stock prices.

 

Comcast has more than 21 million cable subscribers

 

Hopefully Eisner will hold his ground and not sell, as he's said he would (per the report on CNN) and not cave in. Comcast has no business owning Disney.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Paging Mr. Rant...

[MrRant 0]

NEW YORK - In a stunning move, cable TV giant Comcast Corp. proposed early Wednesday to buy Walt Disney Co., the iconic entertainment powerhouse, for stock valued at about $54 billion. It said Disney chief Michael Eisner had rebuffed its request for talks.

 

The nation's biggest cable systems operator said it would also assume $11.9 billion in debt held by Disney, which also owns ABC and ESPN television networks.

 

Comcast's stunning proposal was made even as Disney boss Michael Eisner is fending off criticism from former board members Roy E. Disney, the nephew of Disney founder Walt Disney, and Stanley E. Gold about his performance and lack of a succession plan as Disney's chief executive.

 

Comcast said Eisner declined earlier this week to discuss a possible merger.

 

"This is a very exciting moment," Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said in a conference call with investors and analysts. Roberts said the combination "would create one of the world's premier entertainment and communications companies, and, we believe, restore the Disney brand to prominence and the company to growth."

 

Noting that the offer for Disney had already been rejected by Eisner, an analyst asked Roberts what would come next. "The ball's in Disney's court," Roberts replied.

 

Calls to Disney representatives Zenia Mucha, Michelle Bergman and John Spelich were not immediately returned early Wednesday. Michael Citrick, spokesman for Disney and Gold, said they had no immediate comment.

 

Paul Kim, senior media analyst at Tradition Asiel Securities, said that while Roberts making a bid for Disney in and of itself is not surprising, the timing is.

 

"It's going for the jugular," he said. "He is using this vulnerable time to force Disney's hand."

 

Kim also said Comcast is basically a cable company, and might be biting off more than it can chew. "I think they underestimate the complexity of being a broad-based media company," he said.

 

Comcast also released a letter sent to Eisner indicating that Eisner had personally rejected Roberts' offer to enter into discussions about a merger earlier in the week.

 

The letter from Roberts called it "unfortunate" that Eisner was not willing to enter into discussions. "Given this, the only way for us to proceed is to make a public proposal directly to you and your board," the letter stated.

 

On Comcast's conference call, Steve Burke, the head of the company's cable division, told investors that Comcast believed it could greatly improve the performance of several of Disney's key businesses, including ABC, the ABC Family channel, animation and theme parks.

 

"We think job one is restoring the company to its previous levels of profitability," said Burke, who had previously worked at Disney for 12 years.

 

Under the merger, Comcast said it would issue 0.78 of a share of its Class A stock for each Disney share, and Disney shareholders would retain 42 percent of the combined company.

 

The deal values each Disney share at $26.49, a 10 percent premium over their closing price Tuesday.

 

In a sign that investors expect a nasty fight, Disney's shares shot up $3.36, or 14 percent to $27.44 in heavy trading on the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites), well above Comcast's current offer. Comcast's Class A shares tumbled $3.14, or 9 percent, to $30.79 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

 

 

 

Philadelphia-based Comcast merged with AT&T Broadband in November 2002, making it the largest cable TV company in the country with 21 million subscribers. The company noted that merger in its sales pitch Wednesday.

 

"Our management team has a proven track record of successful integration of our merger partners," Roberts said.

 

Comcast Corp. also reported Wednesday that it swung to a profit of $383 million, or 17 cents per share, for the quarter ending Dec. 31 thanks to continued strong demand for its digital cable and high-speed Internet services. Revenues jumped 58 percent to $4.74 billion.

 

Comcast also has extensive holdings in content providers, with majority stakes in Comcast-Spectacor, the owner of the Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers; Comcast SportsNet, E! Entertainment Television, the Style Network, Golf Channel, Outdoor Life Network and G4.

 

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor.../comcast_disney

 

Umm.... Go us.

[Brush with Greatness 0]

Is this such big news that you had to start a new topic for it? I mean, the old one is only about 5 topics down.

[MrRant 0]

Didn't see it. My bad. A mod can delete or move it.

[Skywarp! 0]

I never realized they were big enough to actually buy Disney.

 

The first order of business should be to rebuild the bridge with Pixar, and then update the theme park's rides, damnit!

 

Next, Comcast should buy TV Guide and force the digital listings for all channels to claim that the new animated series "Disney's The Adventures of Comcast Cat" to be playing at on all channels at all times. Even if it's not true.

[The Amazing Rando 0]

Anyone ever read the novel "Waking Walt"? It's about a large super-company trying to buy Disney, but this "Circle" of old Disney employees is trying to find the cure to bring Disney back to life (in this novel - he is frozen...in real life - he's not) and they actually do bring him back to life and he helps save the company.

 

If this goes through...I kill people. Disney may not be perfect, but the company needs to focus on entertainment and not profit. The more they focus on profit - the more money they lose. The more they focus on the entertainment factor - the more money they make.

 

That's almost fact with the way the Disney company has run it's business (compare before 1985 or so to after 1985...coincidentally when Eisner took over).

[MrRant 0]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mickey Mouse will stay on the Walt Disney payroll welcoming children to the Magic Kingdom if Comcast Corp.'s offer for the company succeeds, and the bidders said they would be all ears when it comes to sprucing up the Disney theme parks.

 

 

Reuters Photo

 

 

 

As details of Comcast's surprise $50 billion offer for Disney began to emerge on Wednesday, among the most asked questions was: What about the theme parks?

 

Comcast executives told Reuters they would be more inclined to keep the parks than to sell them.

 

"We believe the theme parks could be revitalized. It's a great business," Stephen Burke, executive vice president at Comcast, told Reuters in an interview. Burke is a former Disney executive and former president of Euro Disney.

 

Comcast said it plans to drive attendance at the parks through advertising and cross-promotion at attractions, hotels and concessions.

 

That view makes sense, according to analysts who called the parks a key to the Disney brand.

 

"The theme parks' value is not in the rides. It's the Disney brand. Kids go there to see the characters they know from the movies," said Barry Ritholtz, chief market strategist at Maxim Group, a global money management firm whose clients own Comcast and Disney shares.

 

Disney's parks business has struggled to recover from the recent U.S. recession and the tourism slump that followed the Sept. 11 attacks.

 

Still, the business -- encompassing such properties as the original Disneyland park in California, Disney World in Florida, Tokyo Disneyland and a minority stake in debt-strapped Euro Disney -- accounts for nearly a third of Disney's revenue and has unmatched brand power.

 

While many theme parks around the globe continue to suffer from decreased visitors, attendance at Disney parks has been improving.

 

In December Walt Disney said its California Adventure saw a 13 percent rise in 2003 visitors and Disney's Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland were No. 1 and 2, respectively, worldwide in visitors for the second year in a row.

 

Industry sources say Comcast would never sell the parks and risk alienating the children drawn to the parks by Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and the other characters.

 

"The Disney theme parks, unlike Universal or SixFlags, are a Disney product, and have that cache. It's the perfect family fare and the parks have no value without the Disney characters," said Ritholtz.

 

Another incentive for Comcast to keep them is just how hard it would be to sell them, analysts said.

 

Any buyer would have to negotiate a cumbersome license in perpetuity for the rights to the names and characters, Cathay Financial analyst Andy Baker said.

 

"They wouldn't want to sell rights for Mickey Mouse and the other guys, and what's a Disney theme park without them?" said Maxim Group's Ritholtz.

 

"My guess is that Comcast will keep it all together."

 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/n...sney_parks_dc_1

[Jobber of the Week 0]

It won't work. Stockholders will see issue under company leadership, but will feel Comcast's offer is low and will still think the company will operate better independantly. It HAS been making money recently, but that Pixar thing was Eisner's hot potato and it got handled pretty badly ("Don't worry, we still plan to make direct to video sequels of your favorite Pixar characters!")

 

As a Disney fan and a Comcast haterizer, it's kind of frustrating that Roy's good-intentions have left him really unable to say that this is a bad thing. I'd rather see Roy's pick of CEO run Disney than Comcast run Disney.

[MrRant 0]

I believe Steve Burke who is one of the higher ups used to work for Disney back in the good days. He was President of ABC and also developed and founded the Disney stores and was president of Euro Disney's turnaround.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Yeah, but still...

 

My experience with Comcast-owned TV is not that awesome. Take G4 the gaming channel, for example. TechTV does better in 30 minutes than almost everything G4 does except the occasional episode of "Icons." And it's still damn difficult to get if your service isn't Comcast.

 

 

Plus, I just generally have to be against Comcast because I'm a Satellite Fanboy. Cable means west coast feeds, and that means delayed sports, events, and Not Live RAW. Yuck. It's bad enough the Olympics aren't available live when it's some foreign country in a way off time zone. It's even worse when I have to wait 3 more hours than the New York folks and the result of the events are being displayed on the local news teasers before the event is over.

 

It doesn't hurt that comparing them to DTV and Dish in consumer ratings groups tends to make them look bad.

[MrRant 0]

You do know that Comcast is probably going to buy Tech TV and merge it with G4 right?

 

BWAHAHAAHAHAAHA~!

 

Bow down before us.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

You do know that Comcast is probably going to buy Tech TV and merge it with G4 right?

I'll accept as long as you keep it on DTV and kill off all the G4 stuff but Icons and maybe Cinematech. I think that Portal is probably the most intelligence-damaging television that I've ever seen, and I watched the HHH Katie Vick video.

 

 

And Rant, you seem to be the only guy I met of former and present Comcast workers who actually seems to like the company and it's products.

[MrRant 0]

There is always people the dislike something. I'm sure there are people who work for Disney that don't like it.

 

Our of our almost 60,000 employees I would say most enjoy their job. I would say about 97-99% of the people at my particular place of business love working for Comcast (benefits, atmosphere, pay etc).

[Mole 0]

So does this mean I will get a free pass to Disney World since I am a Comcast customer?

[Guest Razor Roman]

So does this mean I will get a free pass to Disney World since I am a Comcast customer?

No you will get ads for Disney World in your cable bill!

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Steve Jobs > ComCast

 

Media firms may counter Comcast bid for Disney

By James Doran, Wall Street Correspondent

A STRING of America’s biggest media groups, including Pixar, the animation studio, and the troubled Time Warner, are examining counter offers for The Walt Disney Company in an effort to spoil Comcast’s $62 billion (£33 billion) hostile bid.

 

Pixar, whose chairman is Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, which until last week was involved in a joint venture with Disney, is understood to be looking at forming a consortium of financiers to counter Comcast’s bid.

 

A spokesman for Mr Jobs would not comment, but a Pixar source said: “Steve is looking very closely at this.”

 

Senior Wall Street sources told The Times last night that Time Warner had also called an emergency meeting with its bankers late on Wednesday, just hours after Comcast’s audacious bid was made public.

 

Time Warner declined to say whether it would make a counter offer, which would have to exceed Comcast’s, although a spokeswoman refused to rule out the possibility. The spokeswoman conceeded, however, that the group had yet to engage its bankers.

 

There was also speculation that Barry Diller’s Interactive Corporation, an internet and media firm, was talking to bankers about a counter offer for Disney, as was Liberty Media, owner of the Discovery Channel, led by John Malone. However, neither company would comment.

 

The News Corporation, parent company of The Times, has ruled itself out as a potential bidder for Disney.

 

Analysts expressed doubts that Time Warner would be able to proceed with a bid for Disney. The company is still reeling from the disastrous merger with AOL, which has left it saddled with $20 billion of debt.

 

However, a Time Warner spokesman said: “Comcast’s bid for Disney validates our strategy of combining content with distribution, as we did with AOL.”

 

Disney remained resolute at its annual analysts’ conference in Florida last night.

 

Tom Staggs, chief financial officer, avoided mentioning the Comcast bid. “We realise our overriding goal is to manage The Walt Disney Company in the best interests of our shareholders,” he said.

 

Robert Iger, chief operating officer and president, told analysts that the company was poised for a growth spurt.

 

“We believe the company’s performance in 2003 and the strong outlook for 2004 signal the beginning of the next period of growth for the company,” he said.

 

The analysts were waiting for Michael Eisner, Disney’s chairman and chief executive, to take the stage so that they could question him about Wednesday’s hostile bid.

 

Mr Eisner was expected to address the conference later in the day.

 

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/...-999660,00.html

[Guest El Satanico]

Disney low balls Pixar, then Pixar turns around and buys Disney.

 

That would be great.

[Lightning Flik 0]

Disney low balls Pixar, then Pixar turns around and buys Disney.

 

That would be great.

This is me after seeing Comcast's proposal of buying Disney...

 

This is me after just seeing that a consortium was being lead to stop Comcast.

 

This is me after reading who is the leader(?) of said concortium.

 

Seriously, I hope Pixar can buy out Disney. Everything Pixar has done with Disney has been gold, so obviously, Pixar does know what it is doing with Disney. Hence, they probably are a good shot of knowing how to make it viable again.

[MrRant 0]

Yeah.. the guy who can't get Apple out of a 5 % market share sure knows......

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Yeah.. the guy who can't get Apple out of a 5 % market share sure knows......

About six big executives, from companies like Pepsi and National Semiconductor, have tried to increase Mac profit share, and it doesn't work. There's something incongruent about how Apple markets the Mac as computers for the everyman, and charges prices beyond what the everyman can afford.

 

 

However, nobody did anything as amazing with Apple as the iPod. And more importantly, Jobs is a far better storyteller/dreamer than Eisner is. Disney has a whole accounting department to handle the bottom line. The company has a whole has stagnated because nobody at the top looks past money anymore.

 

Meanwhile...

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?...%7D&siteid=mktw

 

Would Disney bid for Comcast?

Some observers expect aggressive tactics from Eisner

 

Disney (DIS: news, chart, profile) could buy time and possibly slam its Philadelphia-based M&A adversary against the wall by making a bid to take over Comcast (CMCSA: news, chart, profile) (CMCSK: news, chart, profile).

 

Investors have speculated that Disney might seek to find a "white knight" -- a suitor of its own choosing -- to thwart its foe and regain control of its own destiny.

 

"It's a possibility that investors need to consider because the white knight might be themselves," Angela Kohler, the global media analyst at Federated Investors in Pittsburgh.

 

"Disney is going to consider every option," Kohler said.

 

"It's definitely a possibility," added Jim Fisher, a portfolio manager with Univest Corp. in Souderton, Pa., which owns about 200,000 shares of Comcast. "I certainly wouldn't put it past Eisner to fight for his survival and do some defensive things to keep from being bought. Eisner is so adamantly against being acquired that he could sell off some assets, too."

 

Disney Chairman Michael Eisner has said his company, whose assets include ESPN, ABC, movie divisions and a slew of theme parks, will carefully consider the Comcast bid.

 

More likely, Eisner will explore every possibility to keep independent the company he has led for two decades.

 

Eisner's point of view is well known. Immediately after America Online and Time Warner announced their plans to merge in January 2000 -- a deal that came on the heels of Viacom's move to buy CBS, introducing a wave of merger mania in the media business -- Eisner went on record as saying that Disney would remain independent.

 

Money managers suggest that Eisner is so eager to thwart Comcast that he would entertain extraordinary tactics -- perhaps even employing the "scorched earth" strategy of damaging valuable property that the other side would have hoped to seize.

 

At the same time, Disney could employ what was popularly known as the Pac-Man Defense, in which the target tries to devour the pursuer. Back when oil baron T. Boone Pickens was opposing Cities Service Co., both entities simultaneously filed tender offers for one another.

 

"Is it possible that they would do a reverse on Comcast? Of course, it's possible," said Michael Holland, president of New York money management firm Holland & Co.

 

"The price that Disney would have to pay [to acquire Comcast] would be outrageously high," Holland said. "The shareholders would launch a massive revolt if they thought the management of Disney was doing something at the transparent expense of the shareholders.

 

"At the end of day, corporate financial trickery ... is very transparent," Holland said. "The media glare is going to limit Eisner's options. Ultimately, the options for this guy are pretty limited. He is confined to doing things that have to create shareholder wealth."

 

Holland said he doesn't expect Comcast CEO Brian Roberts to be discouraged when Disney tries to fight off its offer. He pointed to Comcast's acquisition of AT&T's broadband business as an example of Comcast's toughness in takeover battles.

 

"The AT&T deal showed that Roberts is capable of playing in the big leagues," Holland said. "The gravitas he shows is something that investors have taken note of. Right now, the nod goes to Brian Roberts."

 

The history of corporate takeovers is littered with tales of hardball tactics.

 

In 1982, for instance, Brunswick Corp. was being eyed by the Whittaker Corp. To fight back, Brunswick sold its essential Sherwood Medical Division to American Home Products, leaving it with low-growth product units.

 

Disney's stock fell 3.9 percent, or $1.08, to $26.92 on Friday, following a sharp rise over the two previous trading sessions.

[Guest JumpinJackFlash]

The only thing Comcast in my area is Comcast Sports Net. I didn't think they were this big...however I have Cox.

[MrRant 0]

Apple/Pixar CEO is reportedly in talks with Comcast CEO Brian Roberts as the latter attempts to gather support for his company's bid to take control of Disney.

The New York Post claims Roberts is "wooing" Jobs. "Comcast execs believe they will have an easier time convincing Disney shareholders to accept their buyout proposal if it is likely to come with a renewed movie deal with Pixar," the report says.

 

It also reports rumours that Jobs is engaged in active discussions with "numerous parties" aimed at assembling his own bid for ailing Disney.

 

http://www.mickeynews.com/News/DisplayPres..._id_E_2144Apple

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Rumors of a Jobs takeover of Disney have kind of been going on for ages prior to this. Nothing came of it.

 

Then when Roy left everyone thought he would work with Jobs and eventually put Jobs in the seat. Nothing came of it other than Roy pointing to the deal breakup as an example of Eisner's bad management.

 

This Comcast thing is looking weaker and weaker all the time. Comcast stock is falling while Disney is rising and the deal initially looked low in the first place. No analyst in their right mind is willing to say they think the thing will go through.

 

I'd bet money the company remains independent, but the board has enough of Eisner and pushes him through the proverbial window.

[MrRant 0]

Lord.. you haven't read the news have you?