Comcast to buy Disney? (1 Viewer)

[Sean Laughter]

Hmmmm, Steve Jobs attacking Disney from one angle, and now Comcast throws something into the pot, a company which, if I remember correctly has alot of investment from not only Microsoft but from Bill Gates personally. I believe MS as a corporation and Gates himself own a large amount of Comcast stock.

 

[Chris_Morris]

Agreed. Just imagine if Comcast controlled those stations when it comes time to re-negotiate with DBS providers. No way in the world this should be allowed.

Comcast's new slogan: Come to Comcast, the only way to see ESPN, ABC, or ABCFamily.




Chris

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Its stockholders will have to approve any kind of purchase of the company whether its stock for stock or for cash. I'm sure Disney has some kind of poison pill in place to prevent any unwelcomed takeover without a stockholder vote.

~Edwin

 

[ToddP]

Thankfully that is not legal. To my knowledge, any broadcast that is trasmitted/distributed via satellite is required to be made available to satellite service providers. That is the reason why DirecTV is able to offer the Comcast sports station from the DC region. The same requirement does not exist for terrestrial based transmissions. This is why Comcast Sportsnet in Philly is not available through DirecTV. Because the transmission occurs over land lines, and not via satellite, Comcast can keep the station to themselves. This exception would not apply to ESPN, ABC, etc. They could potentially make things more expensive for other companies, but they would not be able to hold the ability to broadcast the sations exclusively with Comcast.

This is my understanding of the regulations. If someone is more informed than I, please correct me.

 

[Chris_Morris]

True, but they can go about it the way you stated. Charge way more than Dish or Direct is willing to pay, and they may drop the channels (as if ESPN doesn't cost too much already).


Chris

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

This much sounds right. There's a reason Disney's never been acquired, and as the Roy Disney expulsion showed, Eisner's got a ironhold grip on the company. I'm sure he's got a couple aces up his sleeve.

I'm not Eisner fan, the opposite in fact, but the very idea of Walt Disney being absorbed into a faceless predatory conglomerate feels wrong. Disney's become too close to that already.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

This will be an interesting merger indeed. If it comes through, Eisner would likely be shown the door, and Steve Burke would take over the entire Disney subsidiary. Burke is a former 12-year Disney man and is the #2 man behind Comcast's chairman Brian Roberts.

Roberts is also known to be a good friend of Harvey Weinstein with the latter known to have a very cold relationship with Eisner. A subsequent effect of the merger would be the possible creation of a cable channel for Miramax to showcase its 500+ film library.

The Disney board would be wise to turn down this initial offer as the premium Comcast was offering has already been overshadowed by today's price action of Disney's stock. This could escalate into a bidding war especially, if another company steps into the middle of the action.

It has been reported that Disney can command upwards to $35 per share for the entire Disney brand. (Its stock price closed today at $27.60.)

Oh yes, even if Eisner is out of a job, his golden parachute is expected to net him as much as $123M from Comcast's offer.

~Edwin

 

[Rob Bartlett]

If Roy Disney supports this, he mitigates his grievances with Eisner to the point where it looks like nothing but a petty fued. You could form a drinking game from Comcast's statements. take a shot everytime they say "bottom line".

And wasn't "pre-Esiner" stuff like The Dark Couldron and an endless stream of Shaggy Dog sequels?

 

[Lew Crippen]

Don’t forget that Rupert Murdock acquired DirecTV and he also has Fox—plus one or two newspapers and other media companies.

 

[Seth--L]

Nah, they're too busy with Janet Jackson's breast to be bothered with a merger like this.

 

[Erik.Ha]

I heard Arlen Spector (I think it was him) say yesterday that congress would have to look VERY carefully at this merger before they allowed it.

 

[Allen Hirsch]

well, today's papers have interesting stuff.

Tim Goodman, the SF Chron TV critic, says Eisner is gone - one way or the other. The Comcast "bear hug" offer just signals how vulnerable he is. In the "old days", if Eisner had said no to overtures, the suitor wouldn't have even been able to get the board to listen, in all likelihood. Now, Eisner is vulnerable, and the Disney board HAS to take seriously ANY offer - although the stock price says Disney will command WAY more than Comcast's first offer.

The Wall Street Journal points out Disney has NONE of the usual corporate takeover defenses in place - poison pill, staggered board, etc. - which means Disney is officially "in play" now, and WILL, in all likelihood, be sold to the highest bidder. That may or may not be Comcast. In theory, the corporate match between Comcast's distribution and DIsney's content is good - except Disney's programming content mostly sucks without Pixar (except for ESPN, which commands a cable premium, and the vault of Walt's animation classics).

It'll take a miracle for Eisner to survive this. The key guy is George Mitchell (retired Maine Senator), who chairs the outside directors for Disney. Disney has an analysts' meeting going on at DisneyWorld the next 3 days, originally scheduled to crow about their improved earnings, etc. - talk about timing! Now the press vultures will be circling instead....

 

[Seth Paxton]

I would assume that Roy is using his stock ownership as some sort of leverage during this buyout, although I'm not sure how much weight he has (what PCT of the stock he has).

I'm not as good with this stuff as you guys are, but even a layman can see that Eisner is fighting a lot of fires right now.

 

[Allen Hirsch]

Roy only owns a couple percent, IIRC.

But - this is ANOTHER big strike against Eisner - one of the two large institutional services just recommended that Disney shareholders withhold their support for the Eisner board slate in this upcoming annual meeting and vote. I don't know how many trusts and mutual funds just follow these services' advice (and would therefore side with Roy Disney), but it doesn't look good for the current top dog of the mouse house at the moment.

 

[Ernest Rister]

And wasn't "pre-Esiner" stuff like The Dark Couldron and an endless stream of Shaggy Dog sequels?

You wean the post-Walt, pre-Eisner era?

Here's a list of some notable films released in that span of time (1967-1984)

The One and Only, Genuine Original Family Band (1968)
The Love Bug (1969)
Smith (1969)
King of the Grizzlies (1970)
The Aristocats (1970)
The Wild Country (1971)
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
The Biscuit Eater (1972)
The World's Greatest Athlete (1973)
One Little Indian (1973)
Robin Hood (1973)
Herbie Rides Again (1974)
The Island at the Top of the World (1974)
Escape to Witch Mountain (1975)
The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975)
No Deposit, No Return (1976)
Freaky Friday (1977)
The Rescuers (1977)
Pete's Dragon (1977)
Candleshoe (1978)
Return from Witch Mountain (1978)
Hot Lead and Cold Feet (1978)
North Avenue Irregulars (1979)
The Black Hole (1979)
Midnight Madness (1980)
The Last Flight of Noah's Ark (1980)
The Devil and Max Devlin (1981)
Amy (1981)
The Fox and the Hound (1981)
The Watcher in the Woods (1981)
Night Crossing (1982)
Tron (1982)
Tex (1982)
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
Never Cry Wolf (1983)
Running Brave (1983)
Splash (1984)

 

[Rob Bartlett]

Well, Splash was okay...

 

[Robert Anthony]

I dunno, that's a pretty respectable list right there.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I believe theme park growth was excellent during those years.

 

[Seth Paxton]

It's amazing when you look at that list at how much they got away from a serious effort to release major animated features on a regular basis.

 

[Allen Hirsch]

More stories in the Wall Street Journal today.

Almost all the "pros" quoted say Disney is probably a goner as an independent company. Only question will be: who buys 'em, and for how much?

Latest wild rumor: Jobs is putting together a consortium w/ Pixar to outbid Comcast for Disney.

Eisner will have to be a corporate Houdini to get out of this one, IMO.