MouseRight
Active Member
Raidermatt, where is that quote from? Thanks.
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Comcast Could Buy Disney
- Thread starter yen sid98
- Start date
Raidermatt, where is that quote from? Thanks.
djmatthews
Well-Known Member
The BBC has a good view on this.... they seem to point their finger at Eisner!
The end of the Disney fairytale?
By Will Smale
BBC News Online business reporter
Disney has always aimed to be a sugar-coated microcosm of American life.
Its theme parks serve up a rose-tinted image of the classic American dream, a place where everyone is happy and wholesome, friendly and fun.
It is a vision of perfect 1950s America, an apparently more simple time when the front lawns were manicured and the little fences were always bright white in the sunshine.
Yet Disney, which now faces a hostile takeover bid from US cable television giant Comcast, is being reminded of the American dream's downside - you have to make more and more money, and woe betide you if you don't.
It does not matter if you are a much-loved iconic institution and home to Mickey Mouse - the laws of capitalism demand ever increasing profits.
Abrasive
And on that front Disney just hasn't been doing the business in recent years.
Yes, it still makes pots of cash, but profits have been constantly getting smaller.
So where did it all go wrong?
Many analysts would immediately point the finger at Disney's 61-year-old chief executive Michael Eisner, and it has to be said that there is a great deal of evidence against him.
In the position for the past 20 years, ex-Disney employees have long accused him of having a brusque personal style, and running the company like a gulag.
'Midget'
So much so that Disney employees have in recent years come up with a rather distasteful nickname for the company - "Mousewitz".
Mr Eisner himself gave a glimpse of his management technique during a highly publicised 1999 compensation trial brought against Disney by former director Jeffrey Katzenberg.
"I hate the little midget," was what Mr Eisner admitted to the court he may very well have said about Mr Katzenberg.
And in more recent times Mr Eisner has faced a continual campaign for him to stand down, led by former Disney directors Roy Disney, nephew of the founder Walt, and Stanley Gold.
They now want him to step down at Disney's 3 March annual meeting, and have received support from a number of Wall Street heavyweights, such as fund adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS).
Pixar
"While Mr Eisner may indeed be trying, he still hasn't gotten it quite right," said ISS.
It added: "Sadly, it has often appeared that reconstituting the board was aimed at quieting healthy boardroom dissent rather than creating it."
But perhaps most damaging for Mr Eisner was his recent failure to renegotiate Disney's distribution deal with leading computer animation firm Pixar.
Pixar's films, such as Toy Story and Monsters Inc, have made more than $2.5bn at the box office since 1995, but Disney ended the partnership after failing to come to agreement on how to split future revenues.
The failure to renew the deal was said to have particularly incensed Roy Disney.
Pirates
"This is the beginning of the end for the chief executive reign for Michael Eisner," said Michael Holland, head of New York money management firm Holland & Company.
Yet Mr Eisner is nothing if not tough, and his fightback has already begun.
On Wednesday, just hours after Comcast announced its takeover bid, Disney rush-released its quarterly financial results, which showed that profit for the quarter to 31 December jumped to $688m, from $36m for the same period of 2002.
And despite the inevitable financial pain of losing Pixar when the current deal ends in 2005, it is an understatement to say that Disney still has its own successful film-making studio.
Yes, it has had a few flops in recent times, but last year's Pirates of the Caribbean made more than $261m in the US and $100m overseas.
Blood
And overall Disney still made a profit of $1.27bn in 2003.
Yet again however, this was down on previous years, something Wall Street investors do not like to see.
Added to this is the ever growing exasperation at Mr Eisner's reported abrasive style, and you would not bet against Disney losing its independence for the first time in its illustrious history.
Analyst James McGlynn from the company Summit Fund, which has owned Disney shares, said continuing with the status quo was impossible.
"Comcast smells blood in the water at Disney," he said.
The fairytale may be over at the house of Mickey Mouse.
The end of the Disney fairytale?
By Will Smale
BBC News Online business reporter
Disney has always aimed to be a sugar-coated microcosm of American life.
Its theme parks serve up a rose-tinted image of the classic American dream, a place where everyone is happy and wholesome, friendly and fun.
It is a vision of perfect 1950s America, an apparently more simple time when the front lawns were manicured and the little fences were always bright white in the sunshine.
Yet Disney, which now faces a hostile takeover bid from US cable television giant Comcast, is being reminded of the American dream's downside - you have to make more and more money, and woe betide you if you don't.
It does not matter if you are a much-loved iconic institution and home to Mickey Mouse - the laws of capitalism demand ever increasing profits.
Abrasive
And on that front Disney just hasn't been doing the business in recent years.
Yes, it still makes pots of cash, but profits have been constantly getting smaller.
So where did it all go wrong?
Many analysts would immediately point the finger at Disney's 61-year-old chief executive Michael Eisner, and it has to be said that there is a great deal of evidence against him.
In the position for the past 20 years, ex-Disney employees have long accused him of having a brusque personal style, and running the company like a gulag.
'Midget'
So much so that Disney employees have in recent years come up with a rather distasteful nickname for the company - "Mousewitz".
Mr Eisner himself gave a glimpse of his management technique during a highly publicised 1999 compensation trial brought against Disney by former director Jeffrey Katzenberg.
"I hate the little midget," was what Mr Eisner admitted to the court he may very well have said about Mr Katzenberg.
And in more recent times Mr Eisner has faced a continual campaign for him to stand down, led by former Disney directors Roy Disney, nephew of the founder Walt, and Stanley Gold.
They now want him to step down at Disney's 3 March annual meeting, and have received support from a number of Wall Street heavyweights, such as fund adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS).
Pixar
"While Mr Eisner may indeed be trying, he still hasn't gotten it quite right," said ISS.
It added: "Sadly, it has often appeared that reconstituting the board was aimed at quieting healthy boardroom dissent rather than creating it."
But perhaps most damaging for Mr Eisner was his recent failure to renegotiate Disney's distribution deal with leading computer animation firm Pixar.
Pixar's films, such as Toy Story and Monsters Inc, have made more than $2.5bn at the box office since 1995, but Disney ended the partnership after failing to come to agreement on how to split future revenues.
The failure to renew the deal was said to have particularly incensed Roy Disney.
Pirates
"This is the beginning of the end for the chief executive reign for Michael Eisner," said Michael Holland, head of New York money management firm Holland & Company.
Yet Mr Eisner is nothing if not tough, and his fightback has already begun.
On Wednesday, just hours after Comcast announced its takeover bid, Disney rush-released its quarterly financial results, which showed that profit for the quarter to 31 December jumped to $688m, from $36m for the same period of 2002.
And despite the inevitable financial pain of losing Pixar when the current deal ends in 2005, it is an understatement to say that Disney still has its own successful film-making studio.
Yes, it has had a few flops in recent times, but last year's Pirates of the Caribbean made more than $261m in the US and $100m overseas.
Blood
And overall Disney still made a profit of $1.27bn in 2003.
Yet again however, this was down on previous years, something Wall Street investors do not like to see.
Added to this is the ever growing exasperation at Mr Eisner's reported abrasive style, and you would not bet against Disney losing its independence for the first time in its illustrious history.
Analyst James McGlynn from the company Summit Fund, which has owned Disney shares, said continuing with the status quo was impossible.
"Comcast smells blood in the water at Disney," he said.
The fairytale may be over at the house of Mickey Mouse.
Raidermatt
Active Member
The quote I used was from Mr. Promey, who was describing what Disney would become if taken over by Comcast.
My point was that its already happened.
My point was that its already happened.
prberk
Well-Known Member
True, true.
"Branding" is symbolic of the problems that got us here: the business school junkies (and I am a business graduate of The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA) have put the cart (administration and "marketing") before the horse (creativity and innovation) so often that a nation that once held the Walt Disney NAME in highest regard for innovation, cleanliness, and value now sees that eroded .... to a point where it can be taken for a "brand" (a term given to how you label cattle and other things that are otherwise no different than everyone else's products) that is simply for sale to the highest bidder.
Sad.
And, as for Roy: yes, it attracted sharks, but so was the case in the 1980s, when Roy was able to get raise support and get some cleaning done. I hope that is the case here, also. I like the white knight idea (like the Basses were last time), with Steve Jobs as a possible one (since John Lassiter has his and Roy's ear).
But I also like the idea that the company stay independent and use the pressure to replace Michael.
It is all dangerous, but in the long run the light is shining in on this company -- a company that has true roots in America and among its shareholders. I cannot help but believe that the mass of personal feeling toward this company will help as the light shines in its corporate darkness.
MouseRight
Active Member
Interesting Article.
------------------------
Reuters
Disney's Eisner finds something to laugh about
Thursday February 12, 8:41 pm ET
By Ben Berkowitz
LOS ANGELES, Feb 12 (Reuters) - His company is in play and his job may be on the line, but Walt Disney Co. (NYSE
IS - News) Chief Executive Michael Eisner showed on Thursday that he can still crack a joke under pressure -- like he plans to buy Comcast.
Eisner, who has run Disney for 20 years, made light of topics ranging from the company's acrimonious ties with animation partner Pixar Animation Studios Inc. (NasdaqNMIXR - News) to a takeover bid for Disney launched this week by Comcast Corp. (NasdaqNM:CMCSA - News)
After about eight hours of presentations to analysts, Eisner was also the first Disney executive to make any direct mention of the bid by the No. 1 cable operator, after someone in the audience asked him about Disney's acquisition strategy.
"Acquisitions? Oh -- we're buying Comcast!" he said, in a line that brought down the house before he thought better of the joke. "No, terrible answer. Turn off those cameras!"
Eisner reserved his best barb for Steve Jobs, the CEO of Pixar and also co-founder of Apple Computer Inc. (NasdaqNM:AAPL - News), whose Macintosh computers are a leading alternative to PCs running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system.
"He created the computer, or at least Windows, or whatever he created, and did a good job," Eisner said to peals of laughter from analysts attending the company conference in Orlando, Florida.
Eisner was addressing the collapse of talks between Disney and Pixar on extending their partnership, which has generated five smash hits including last year's "Finding Nemo."
Since those talks failed late last month, Eisner and Jobs have traded barbs, each blaming the other. "You'd be killing me today if you read the deal we offered them," he told the analysts.
Dissident shareholders led by Roy Disney, nephew of founder Walt Disney and a former board member, have urged investors to withhold their vote for Eisner as chairman at the company's upcoming annual meeting, charging that he has mismanaged the company over the past decade.
Thursday's presentations to analysts were meant in part to counter that charge by showing the company's turnaround strategy will pay off with strong growth through at least 2007.
------------------------
Reuters
Disney's Eisner finds something to laugh about
Thursday February 12, 8:41 pm ET
By Ben Berkowitz
LOS ANGELES, Feb 12 (Reuters) - His company is in play and his job may be on the line, but Walt Disney Co. (NYSE
IS - News) Chief Executive Michael Eisner showed on Thursday that he can still crack a joke under pressure -- like he plans to buy Comcast. Eisner, who has run Disney for 20 years, made light of topics ranging from the company's acrimonious ties with animation partner Pixar Animation Studios Inc. (NasdaqNM
IXR - News) to a takeover bid for Disney launched this week by Comcast Corp. (NasdaqNM:CMCSA - News)After about eight hours of presentations to analysts, Eisner was also the first Disney executive to make any direct mention of the bid by the No. 1 cable operator, after someone in the audience asked him about Disney's acquisition strategy.
"Acquisitions? Oh -- we're buying Comcast!" he said, in a line that brought down the house before he thought better of the joke. "No, terrible answer. Turn off those cameras!"
Eisner reserved his best barb for Steve Jobs, the CEO of Pixar and also co-founder of Apple Computer Inc. (NasdaqNM:AAPL - News), whose Macintosh computers are a leading alternative to PCs running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system.
"He created the computer, or at least Windows, or whatever he created, and did a good job," Eisner said to peals of laughter from analysts attending the company conference in Orlando, Florida.
Eisner was addressing the collapse of talks between Disney and Pixar on extending their partnership, which has generated five smash hits including last year's "Finding Nemo."
Since those talks failed late last month, Eisner and Jobs have traded barbs, each blaming the other. "You'd be killing me today if you read the deal we offered them," he told the analysts.
Dissident shareholders led by Roy Disney, nephew of founder Walt Disney and a former board member, have urged investors to withhold their vote for Eisner as chairman at the company's upcoming annual meeting, charging that he has mismanaged the company over the past decade.
Thursday's presentations to analysts were meant in part to counter that charge by showing the company's turnaround strategy will pay off with strong growth through at least 2007.
garyhoov
Trophy Husband
?!?!?!?!?! That's it! I'm done! I have absolutely NO respect left for Eisner. Disney NEEDS Pixar. Without them, they will be, for the first time since Steam Boat Willie: "just another second rate animation house". They've decapitated their 2D animation, all they have left is Pixar.
What does Eisner gain from insulting Steve Jobs?!?! Even if he hates his guts, what's the point? Maybe it wasn't a great deal. Fine. Tell us that in a professional manner. Don't act like a spoiled little brat and kill any chance Disney might have had of keeping Pixar.
My apologies to any Eisner supporters, but I don't think I've ever heard a more idiotic statement from a CEO at a time that such a comment does nothing but hurt an already severly wounded company.
General Grizz
New Member
Argh. Perfect scenario: EISNER AND COMCAST GET BOOTED.
Company stays Independent, but gets control of Pixar with brand new CEO.
Ahhhhhhh. . .
Company stays Independent, but gets control of Pixar with brand new CEO.
Ahhhhhhh. . .
Snapper Bean
Active Member
Why won't Roy and Stanley come out against the Comcast acquisition?
Snapper Bean
Snapper Bean
Shaman
Well-Known Member
Booting a CEO isn't exactly easy, especially now that the company is starring at a Comcast hostile takeover....I guess they're playing politics here...cause push comes to shove Roy and Stan want back in....and Eisner out.....
Reading some of the stuff on their site...they are pushing for the company's independence...but like you say they haven't really made that clear....who knows...
:veryconfu
Snapper Bean
Active Member
objr - I think you're right but shouldn't that disappoint me. I thought Roy and Stanley wanted what's best for the company. Would they be willing to have Disney acquired by Comcast so long as they are included but Eisner is not. I didn't think the website was www.saveroydisney.com
Snapper Bean
Snapper Bean
MouseRight
Active Member
I am guessing that you then didn't hear CEO Jobs' comments in his conference call last week. He spent the entire call trashing Disney (and thus Eisner). Very inaaprpriate. See sepearte thread on his comments.
I have been listening to the investor presentation over teh last few days. Disney has a plan for animation. They don't need Pixar to regain their animation crown. They need to do it on their own in their own way and with their own people. Not outsourced to another company. If Pixar stayed in the fold then their successes would never have been attributed to Disney - (e.g., Jobs said that Disney has had no creative input into thelast few films - which I don't believe). I believe Disney will regain teh crown with their own technology and talent.
Shaman
Well-Known Member
Well maybe...maybe not....
I mean, if Roy and Stan comment and voice their opinion, that could help comcast and hurt Eisner, or ruin comcast and help Eisner.....its a tough decision to make, especially since their movement to SAVE DISNEY is on the line....perhaps they are looking for ways to ruin both Eisner and Comcast...perhaps Roy and Stan are in with Jobs, and Pixar will bid for Disney....who knows....I think there is more happening here than we could possibly know...too many coincidences...I just hope we get whats best for Disney in the end...
For now I think Roy and Stan are against the merger...
MKCustodial
Well-Known Member
Ok, so we shouldn't believe Comcast's ideas for after the takeover, because they're just promises. So how can we trust any other CEO that comes in promising the same thing? I suppose this is how people were feeling back in the 80's.
Jim Hill has two very interesting articles about this whole mess. Some creepy ideas, I might add. Conspiracies abound? :lookaroun
And I don't know if you guys have read about it, but Comcast is not the only problem. They opened the door for a whole bunch of people. Apparently, tehre's a line behind them to try out for the takeover if they fail.
I don't know if this is going to happen or not, or if this is good or not. I do know that all the suits are only thinking about money, and if this deal sounds sweet to them, they'll take it. They don't care if Disney is magic and not a brand, by the end of the day they just want to cash in.
Jim Hill has two very interesting articles about this whole mess. Some creepy ideas, I might add. Conspiracies abound? :lookaroun
And I don't know if you guys have read about it, but Comcast is not the only problem. They opened the door for a whole bunch of people. Apparently, tehre's a line behind them to try out for the takeover if they fail.
I don't know if this is going to happen or not, or if this is good or not. I do know that all the suits are only thinking about money, and if this deal sounds sweet to them, they'll take it. They don't care if Disney is magic and not a brand, by the end of the day they just want to cash in.
MouseRight
Active Member
I know I am getting a little obsessed with this whole thing too!!:hammer:
Raidermatt
Active Member
Disney already has a deal with another CGI company, Vanguard.
MouseRight
Active Member
I am not sure, but I believe that this deal is fundamentally different than the Pixar deal. I believe the Disney animators will use the technology to create their own stories - not outsource it like they did with Pixar. Does anyone know if this is true?
If so, this is where I think ending the Pixar deal is the right way to go. Disney animators creating their own stories true to the Disney vision and tradition. At least I hope that is the way it will end up.
MouseRight
Active Member
Here comes the 800 pound GORILLA. I didn't realize that Microsoft owned a piece of Comcast.
---------------------------
Reuters
Microsoft a Disney Suitor?
Friday February 13, 2:17 pm ET
By Reed Stevenson
SEATTLE (Reuters) - One of the biggest winners in Comcast Corp.'s (NasdaqNM:CMCSA - News) surprise $47.6 billion bid to buy Walt Disney Co., (NYSEIS - News), analysts said on Friday, may be the silent partner looming in the wings, Microsoft Corp. (NasdaqNM:MSFT - News).
Since Microsoft already owns 7.4 percent of Comcast, it would end up controlling about 4 percent of the world's largest media company if Comcast's bid succeeds.
That stake could give Microsoft leverage over the course of the deal and afterward as it looks to push its software beyond the maturing market for personal computers and into the still-developing boom in digital entertainment, analysts said.
Microsoft has long sought to forge links in the telecommunications and entertainment industries in order to sell its software, leading some observers to question whether the world's largest software maker could emerge as a rival bidder for Disney.
With nearly $53 billion in cash, analysts said Microsoft could easily pay for a large media franchise, such as Disney, with cash or stock.
"The missing link in all of Microsoft's plans is content," said Rob Helm, research director at Directions on Microsoft, a Kirkland, Washington-based independent researcher.
With the next version of Microsoft's market-dominant Windows operating software not expected for another two years or so, Helm said that "Microsoft is counting on digital audio and video to keep PC sales intact."
A spokeswoman for the world's largest software maker declined to comment on any acquisition rumors.
But analysts said that even a minority ownership in a media giant rivaling Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX - News) could be enough to create stronger links between Microsoft's software, Comcast's distribution and Disney's prized entertainment assets.
Just this week Disney agreed to license digital media technology from Microsoft for distributing movies over the Internet that would prevent illegal distribution and copying of digital movies.
"At one time Microsoft seemed very intent on expanding its media role, particularly when looking at the perceived threat of then AOL and Time Warner," said Joe Wilcox, analyst at Jupiter Media, "But right now, the company is now focusing on getting back to basics."
PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999?
Much of this week's merger hype echoed events seen five years ago, when AOL was constructing its merger with Time Warner Inc. and Microsoft invested billions in cable providers, only to write much of that off in subsequent years.
Microsoft also proved to be a key player when Comcast acquired AT&T Corp.'s (NYSE:T - News) cable business, exercising its influence both through its stake in Comcast and a $5 billion investment it made in AT&T.
Analysts said that a competing Microsoft bid for Disney was unlikely, given that the software maker has backed away from investing heavily in content after launching MSNBC and online magazine Slate, which remain relatively small operations. MSNBC is a joint venture between Microsoft and General Electric Co.'s (NYSE:GE - News) NBC network
Moreover, the Federal Communications Commission (News - Websites) has promised to go through Comcast's proposed merger with a fine-toothed comb, the kind of anti-trust attention that Microsoft has worked hard to put behind it in recent years.
"They've never done an acquisition of more than a couple of billion dollars," said Jamie Friedman, analyst at Fulcrum Global Partners. "They're not content creators and their content dissemination is a relatively small part of their business."
Helm at Directions on Microsoft said that Microsoft tends to have "arm's-length" cooperation with content providers, a model it prefers.
"Microsoft has said repeatedly it's not a content company," Helm said.
---------------------------
Reuters
Microsoft a Disney Suitor?
Friday February 13, 2:17 pm ET
By Reed Stevenson
SEATTLE (Reuters) - One of the biggest winners in Comcast Corp.'s (NasdaqNM:CMCSA - News) surprise $47.6 billion bid to buy Walt Disney Co., (NYSE
IS - News), analysts said on Friday, may be the silent partner looming in the wings, Microsoft Corp. (NasdaqNM:MSFT - News).Since Microsoft already owns 7.4 percent of Comcast, it would end up controlling about 4 percent of the world's largest media company if Comcast's bid succeeds.
That stake could give Microsoft leverage over the course of the deal and afterward as it looks to push its software beyond the maturing market for personal computers and into the still-developing boom in digital entertainment, analysts said.
Microsoft has long sought to forge links in the telecommunications and entertainment industries in order to sell its software, leading some observers to question whether the world's largest software maker could emerge as a rival bidder for Disney.
With nearly $53 billion in cash, analysts said Microsoft could easily pay for a large media franchise, such as Disney, with cash or stock.
"The missing link in all of Microsoft's plans is content," said Rob Helm, research director at Directions on Microsoft, a Kirkland, Washington-based independent researcher.
With the next version of Microsoft's market-dominant Windows operating software not expected for another two years or so, Helm said that "Microsoft is counting on digital audio and video to keep PC sales intact."
A spokeswoman for the world's largest software maker declined to comment on any acquisition rumors.
But analysts said that even a minority ownership in a media giant rivaling Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX - News) could be enough to create stronger links between Microsoft's software, Comcast's distribution and Disney's prized entertainment assets.
Just this week Disney agreed to license digital media technology from Microsoft for distributing movies over the Internet that would prevent illegal distribution and copying of digital movies.
"At one time Microsoft seemed very intent on expanding its media role, particularly when looking at the perceived threat of then AOL and Time Warner," said Joe Wilcox, analyst at Jupiter Media, "But right now, the company is now focusing on getting back to basics."
PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999?
Much of this week's merger hype echoed events seen five years ago, when AOL was constructing its merger with Time Warner Inc. and Microsoft invested billions in cable providers, only to write much of that off in subsequent years.
Microsoft also proved to be a key player when Comcast acquired AT&T Corp.'s (NYSE:T - News) cable business, exercising its influence both through its stake in Comcast and a $5 billion investment it made in AT&T.
Analysts said that a competing Microsoft bid for Disney was unlikely, given that the software maker has backed away from investing heavily in content after launching MSNBC and online magazine Slate, which remain relatively small operations. MSNBC is a joint venture between Microsoft and General Electric Co.'s (NYSE:GE - News) NBC network
Moreover, the Federal Communications Commission (News - Websites) has promised to go through Comcast's proposed merger with a fine-toothed comb, the kind of anti-trust attention that Microsoft has worked hard to put behind it in recent years.
"They've never done an acquisition of more than a couple of billion dollars," said Jamie Friedman, analyst at Fulcrum Global Partners. "They're not content creators and their content dissemination is a relatively small part of their business."
Helm at Directions on Microsoft said that Microsoft tends to have "arm's-length" cooperation with content providers, a model it prefers.
"Microsoft has said repeatedly it's not a content company," Helm said.