PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
If comcast were offering real money, i could see it happeneing, but only 9 dollar a share over a stock that is going to go back up? No way....
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Comcast Could Buy Disney
- Thread starter yen sid98
- Start date
cherrynegra
Well-Known Member
Hey MKT while you're purchasing Disney, could you be so kind as to purchase a small island in the Pacific for me? Thanks ever so much.
And if your card doesn't go through, I'm all for a previous posters' idea of having the Oriental Land Company purchase the parks from Comcast if it goes through. That would be so genious!!
And if your card doesn't go through, I'm all for a previous posters' idea of having the Oriental Land Company purchase the parks from Comcast if it goes through. That would be so genious!!
jrriddle
Well-Known Member
Just read the proposal from Comcast to investors (available on their site).
This is the plan:
Empower (expand) the animation department to restore it to the success levels of the 90's.
Retain the parks. More cross promotion, advertising, Restore energy & creativity in attractions & hotels.
Launch new channels mentions Disney VOD.
Cross promotion with networks, parks and movies.
This is the plan:
Empower (expand) the animation department to restore it to the success levels of the 90's.
Retain the parks. More cross promotion, advertising, Restore energy & creativity in attractions & hotels.
Launch new channels mentions Disney VOD.
Cross promotion with networks, parks and movies.
Originally posted by cherrynegra
Hey MKT while you're purchasing Disney, could you be so kind as to purchase a small island in the Pacific for me? Thanks ever so much.
next month... I have to pay off my bill now.. lol
Amex... no credit limit :fork:
Dwarful
Well-Known Member
Well, honestly this is a sad day. I certainly hope that Eisner, the board and the stockholders hold on tightly to Disney. No one can honestly say what will happen when one company takes over another. Some good things will happen, then again, some bad things may happen as well. I know first hand the bad things that occured when BP bought out Amoco. 
Some "plans" don't materialize and the last thing I want is to see WDW become a Universal/Six Flags crossover just to make a few more dollars!
Some "plans" don't materialize and the last thing I want is to see WDW become a Universal/Six Flags crossover just to make a few more dollars!
garyhoov
Trophy Husband
That's my thinking (hope). If they really understand what makes Disney work (and I don't think it's a particular secret, there have been countless books etc. discussing the philosophies).
If anything, it seems that Eisner has done more to get them away from those core values than any new management is likely to.
Oh, well, I can hope.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Frankly, Disney can do that on its own with someone else other than Eisner at the helm.
BTW i dunno if they *COULD* buy Disney according to NHL rules. Comcast owns Comcast/Spectacor who own The Philadelphia Flyers. Dinsey *STILL* owns The Mighty Ducks, without sucessfully finding a seller, last i checked. Isnt it against NHL rules to own 2 teams? (And they aint sellin the Flyers.)
I see absolutly nothing in it for Disney other than short term monitary gains. There's no incentive, there's nothing comcast can offer that would make Disney better.
I guess the one good thing is that i might actually get ESPN Classic on my comcast digital cable despite the fact that i pay waaaaay too much money for crappy service as it is.
jrriddle
Well-Known Member
I agree that there is nothing they said that Disney couldn't do themselves.
I don't think that the NHL would (could) stand in the way of this deal. Besides Disney has been trying to unload the Ducks for a while. Comcast could just sell them to the first half reasonable offer they get.
tigsmom
Well-Known Member
Just saw this on CBSMarketwatch:
Serious about Goofy
Wednesday February 11, 13:29 pm ET
By David Weidner
Comcast hires Felix Rohatyn, Wall Street veteran
By David Weidner, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 1:29 PM ET Feb 11, 2004
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - In making its unsolicited offer for Walt Disney, Comcast has brought in Wall Street luminary Felix Rohatyn as an adviser on the deal.
The entrance by Rohatyn, 75, the former head of Lazard Frères in New York, signals that Comcast (CMCSK), (CMCSA) is more than serious about its $66 billion cash and debt bid for Disney (DIS).
Since leaving Lazard in 1997, Rohatyn has been in something of a quasi retirement. He was named U.S. ambassador to France but in 2001 made a limited return to advising bluest of blue chips.
Though his firm Rohatyn Associates has an office in midtown Manhattan, Rohatyn's name has only been attached to a handful of deals in recent years.
Two years ago he advised HSBC Holdings (HBC) on its $14 billion acquisition of Household International. And last year he advised France's Suez SA on a $2.2 billion asset sale to a group of U.S. private equity companies.
As his tour as U.S. ambassador suggests, Rohatyn hasn't confined his work to investment banking. He helped New York City restructure its crushing debt in the 1970s and 1980s. But it's whispering in the ears of CEOs of the world's biggest companies that has defined Rohatyn.
Now Rohatyn is the most eye-catching name on the Comcast team. Robert Kindler of J.P. Morgan Chase, Paul Taubman of Morgan Stanley and the Steven Rattner of the Quadrangle Group are also advising the company. Davis Polk & Wardwell is providing legal advice.
Familiar faces
There will be few introductions necessary for the Comcast advisory team; Rattner is a former Lazard banker and the founder of the Quadrangle Group.
Kindler was an M&A attorney at Cravath Swaine & Moore until 2000, when he joined J.P. Morgan as a managing director. As an attorney he worked on Viacom's (VIA) acquisition of CBS, and the merger of America Online and Time Warner.
The Comcast relationship is an old one for Morgan Stanley; the company is a regular presenter at Morgan Stanley's annual media conference in the spring. Former Morgan Stanley banker Jonathan Knee was a long-time adviser to the company.
Davis Polk lawyers on the Disney bid, Dennis S. Hersch and William H. Aaronson, advised Comcast on its $72 billion acquisition of AT&T Broadband in 2002.
Disney has yet to disclose if it is working with an investment bank or legal team. The media company did not work with an investment bank on its last mega deal, the $5.2 billion acquisition of Fox Family Worldwide in 2001. But it has tapped Morton Pierce at Dewey Ballantine for legal advice.
Serious about Goofy
Wednesday February 11, 13:29 pm ET
By David Weidner
Comcast hires Felix Rohatyn, Wall Street veteran
By David Weidner, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 1:29 PM ET Feb 11, 2004
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - In making its unsolicited offer for Walt Disney, Comcast has brought in Wall Street luminary Felix Rohatyn as an adviser on the deal.
The entrance by Rohatyn, 75, the former head of Lazard Frères in New York, signals that Comcast (CMCSK), (CMCSA) is more than serious about its $66 billion cash and debt bid for Disney (DIS).
Since leaving Lazard in 1997, Rohatyn has been in something of a quasi retirement. He was named U.S. ambassador to France but in 2001 made a limited return to advising bluest of blue chips.
Though his firm Rohatyn Associates has an office in midtown Manhattan, Rohatyn's name has only been attached to a handful of deals in recent years.
Two years ago he advised HSBC Holdings (HBC) on its $14 billion acquisition of Household International. And last year he advised France's Suez SA on a $2.2 billion asset sale to a group of U.S. private equity companies.
As his tour as U.S. ambassador suggests, Rohatyn hasn't confined his work to investment banking. He helped New York City restructure its crushing debt in the 1970s and 1980s. But it's whispering in the ears of CEOs of the world's biggest companies that has defined Rohatyn.
Now Rohatyn is the most eye-catching name on the Comcast team. Robert Kindler of J.P. Morgan Chase, Paul Taubman of Morgan Stanley and the Steven Rattner of the Quadrangle Group are also advising the company. Davis Polk & Wardwell is providing legal advice.
Familiar faces
There will be few introductions necessary for the Comcast advisory team; Rattner is a former Lazard banker and the founder of the Quadrangle Group.
Kindler was an M&A attorney at Cravath Swaine & Moore until 2000, when he joined J.P. Morgan as a managing director. As an attorney he worked on Viacom's (VIA) acquisition of CBS, and the merger of America Online and Time Warner.
The Comcast relationship is an old one for Morgan Stanley; the company is a regular presenter at Morgan Stanley's annual media conference in the spring. Former Morgan Stanley banker Jonathan Knee was a long-time adviser to the company.
Davis Polk lawyers on the Disney bid, Dennis S. Hersch and William H. Aaronson, advised Comcast on its $72 billion acquisition of AT&T Broadband in 2002.
Disney has yet to disclose if it is working with an investment bank or legal team. The media company did not work with an investment bank on its last mega deal, the $5.2 billion acquisition of Fox Family Worldwide in 2001. But it has tapped Morton Pierce at Dewey Ballantine for legal advice.
Dwarful
Well-Known Member
[I don't think that the NHL would (could) stand in the way of this deal.
Don't put it past the NHL to do anything stupid...they have been known to make some pretty bad decisions or just be plain mean spirited...
sorry I am having Mike Keenan flashbacks. Scott Stevens we still miss you!
Don't put it past the NHL to do anything stupid...they have been known to make some pretty bad decisions or just be plain mean spirited...
sorry I am having Mike Keenan flashbacks. Scott Stevens we still miss you!
tigsmom
Well-Known Member
Just picked this up from the AP...the first time I read anything about the board being willing to consider the buyout.
Walt Disney to Study Comcast Offer
Associated Press
In a stunning move, cable TV giant Comcast Corp. proposed Wednesday to buy Walt Disney Co. for stock valued at about $54 billion. The Disney board said it would study the offer, which would create the world's largest communications company.
Comcast, the nation's biggest cable systems operator, said Disney chief Michael Eisner had rebuffed its request to talk earlier this week.
Comcast's proposal was made as Eisner is fending off criticism from former board members Roy E. Disney, nephew of founder Walt Disney, and Stanley E. Gold about his performance and lack of a succession plan as Disney's chief executive. Michael Citrick, spokesman for Disney and Gold, declined to comment on Comcast's proposal.
"This is a very exciting moment," Comcast chief executive 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."
"The ball's in Disney's court," Roberts said.
Disney's board of directors released a statement later Wednesday saying it had received Comcast's offer and would "carefully evaluate" it. "In the meantime, there is no action for shareholders to take," the directors said.
Disney, which owns ABC and ESPN, and Comcast, whose businesses include the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team, together had $45 billion in revenues last year. Time Warner Inc.'s $39.6 billion in revenues last year made it the world's largest media and communications company.
In a news conference in New York, Roberts said he hoped to make the deal "as friendly and amicable as possible, as fast as possible," but he also noted that he was ready to abandon the proposed merger if need be. "We've walked away from big things before. Life goes on," Roberts said.
Paul Kim, senior media analyst at Tradition Asiel Securities, said that while Roberts' bid for Disney was not surprising, the timing was.
"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 released a letter sent to Eisner indicating that Eisner had personally rejected Roberts' offer to enter into merger discussions earlier in the week. Roberts' letter called Eisner's refusal "unfortunate."
"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, 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 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 midmorning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, 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 nation's largest cable TV company 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 also has extensive holdings in media 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.
Separately, Comcast 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.
Last year, Roy Disney, the last Disney family member active in the company that his father and uncle founded in the 1920s, and Gold had called on Eisner to resign, saying he was to blame for a tumbling stock price, embarrassing management missteps and a focus on short-term profits over the company's core mission.
But others credit Eisner with turning a sleepy theme park company and also-ran movie studio into a major media conglomerate.
Walt Disney to Study Comcast Offer
Associated Press
In a stunning move, cable TV giant Comcast Corp. proposed Wednesday to buy Walt Disney Co. for stock valued at about $54 billion. The Disney board said it would study the offer, which would create the world's largest communications company.
Comcast, the nation's biggest cable systems operator, said Disney chief Michael Eisner had rebuffed its request to talk earlier this week.
Comcast's proposal was made as Eisner is fending off criticism from former board members Roy E. Disney, nephew of founder Walt Disney, and Stanley E. Gold about his performance and lack of a succession plan as Disney's chief executive. Michael Citrick, spokesman for Disney and Gold, declined to comment on Comcast's proposal.
"This is a very exciting moment," Comcast chief executive 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."
"The ball's in Disney's court," Roberts said.
Disney's board of directors released a statement later Wednesday saying it had received Comcast's offer and would "carefully evaluate" it. "In the meantime, there is no action for shareholders to take," the directors said.
Disney, which owns ABC and ESPN, and Comcast, whose businesses include the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team, together had $45 billion in revenues last year. Time Warner Inc.'s $39.6 billion in revenues last year made it the world's largest media and communications company.
In a news conference in New York, Roberts said he hoped to make the deal "as friendly and amicable as possible, as fast as possible," but he also noted that he was ready to abandon the proposed merger if need be. "We've walked away from big things before. Life goes on," Roberts said.
Paul Kim, senior media analyst at Tradition Asiel Securities, said that while Roberts' bid for Disney was not surprising, the timing was.
"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 released a letter sent to Eisner indicating that Eisner had personally rejected Roberts' offer to enter into merger discussions earlier in the week. Roberts' letter called Eisner's refusal "unfortunate."
"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, 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 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 midmorning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, 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 nation's largest cable TV company 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 also has extensive holdings in media 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.
Separately, Comcast 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.
Last year, Roy Disney, the last Disney family member active in the company that his father and uncle founded in the 1920s, and Gold had called on Eisner to resign, saying he was to blame for a tumbling stock price, embarrassing management missteps and a focus on short-term profits over the company's core mission.
But others credit Eisner with turning a sleepy theme park company and also-ran movie studio into a major media conglomerate.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Last i checked, Comcast's offer was for $26 and change/share while Disney stock is trading over $27 and change. Comcast is gonna have to pony up more $$$$$$$$$$ if they want the mouse.
CTXRover
Well-Known Member
I have to agree with you completely. Now is the time for Roy to actually step up and actually "save" Disney. As of now, Eisner is adamant about keeping the company independent as is evidenced by his outright refusal to even talk with Comcast about merger possibilities. Thank goodness. However, Roy and Stanley have been pretty good recently in making public their perceived instability within the company and it may just be a reason Comcast took the shot of a hostile takeover. Yes, I'm actually insinuating that Roy and Stanley might be doing more harm than good with their public outlashes on Eisner and the board. Instead of just getting Eisner out of there, we now have a hostile takeover offer which creates all kinds of complications, getting rid of Eisner is the least of our worries. I wanted Eisner gone badly, but not in exchange for losing the company's independence. Right now we can only hope Eisner continues his adamant refusal to "sell" the company. For once I am on Eisner's side, who would have known.
But on the other hand....I just don't know what to think. Comcast makes some interesting points and seems like they are interested in the WHOLE Disney package from TV to Studios to the theme parks. They make seem intriguing propositions...not to mention that Disney/Comcast would be the largest entertainment giant in the world...surpassing AOL/Time Warner. But I don't really think "bigger is better" in this case. I just know that I personally wish that Disney stay independent and not 'owned' by another company.
I am INCREDIBLY eager to hear what Roy and Stanley have to say about this whole mess and where they stand...do they support Eisner here and prevent the takeover or what?
djmatthews
Well-Known Member
Well this will make and excellent project - I have to do a report on mergers soon.
My two cents (or pence worth)..... If all the Disney fans from WDWMAGIC, DisBoards, WDWIG etc club together, we will put in a bid for the TWDC, I'm sure we can find $66 billion. We will then asset strip, and democratically run the company. SORTED!
On a more serious note - I'm quite scared by all this!
I think today is a day of mergers KLM and Air France have the go ahead to merge!
My two cents (or pence worth)..... If all the Disney fans from WDWMAGIC, DisBoards, WDWIG etc club together, we will put in a bid for the TWDC, I'm sure we can find $66 billion. We will then asset strip, and democratically run the company. SORTED!
On a more serious note - I'm quite scared by all this!
I think today is a day of mergers KLM and Air France have the go ahead to merge!
jrriddle
Well-Known Member
From Forbes.com:
On a conference call, Comcast Vice President Stephen Burke outlined the company's plans for a combination with Disney. The first job, he said, would be to get Disney back to profitability levels of the past. It's an operation he knows well: He was president of Disney's ABC from 1996 to 1998. Burke said that profits at ABC are lagging those of rival networks like General Electric's (nyse: GE - news - people ) NBC, and Viacom's CBS, saying the combined operations of the ABC networks and its affiliate TV stations are just breaking even. He called ABC's Family Channel "a major drag" on its operations.
"We think we understand the cable business and that we can address this," Burke said.
Burke also said a newly combined Comcast and Disney would extend a new hand of friendship to Pixar (nasdaq: PIXR - news - people ) CEO Steve Jobs. Jobs walked away from talks to extend the successful Disney-Pixar partnership in producing, financing, promoting and distributing computer animation feature films like the Toy Story series and last year's hit Finding Nemo. The move was widely seen as a powerful blow to Disney and to Eisner.
"Ten years ago Disney was an animation powerhouse," Burke said. "But in the last five years Disney's biggest hits have come from Pixar. Our goal would be place Disney Animation once again at the center of the company."
Less clear were Comcast's plans for Disney's theme park business, which has struggled in recent years. On that topic Burke said only that the combination would present an opportunity to promote the theme park to Comcast's customers. "It's a good business and one that can get better."
On a conference call, Comcast Vice President Stephen Burke outlined the company's plans for a combination with Disney. The first job, he said, would be to get Disney back to profitability levels of the past. It's an operation he knows well: He was president of Disney's ABC from 1996 to 1998. Burke said that profits at ABC are lagging those of rival networks like General Electric's (nyse: GE - news - people ) NBC, and Viacom's CBS, saying the combined operations of the ABC networks and its affiliate TV stations are just breaking even. He called ABC's Family Channel "a major drag" on its operations.
"We think we understand the cable business and that we can address this," Burke said.
Burke also said a newly combined Comcast and Disney would extend a new hand of friendship to Pixar (nasdaq: PIXR - news - people ) CEO Steve Jobs. Jobs walked away from talks to extend the successful Disney-Pixar partnership in producing, financing, promoting and distributing computer animation feature films like the Toy Story series and last year's hit Finding Nemo. The move was widely seen as a powerful blow to Disney and to Eisner.
"Ten years ago Disney was an animation powerhouse," Burke said. "But in the last five years Disney's biggest hits have come from Pixar. Our goal would be place Disney Animation once again at the center of the company."
Less clear were Comcast's plans for Disney's theme park business, which has struggled in recent years. On that topic Burke said only that the combination would present an opportunity to promote the theme park to Comcast's customers. "It's a good business and one that can get better."
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Everything Burke outlined can be done with Disney as an independent company, just with different leadership. The Board, or someone needs to point that out to the press, FAST.
Isnt it ironic that the annual meeting is in Philly, comcast's hometown?
Isnt it ironic that the annual meeting is in Philly, comcast's hometown?
cherrynegra
Well-Known Member
Any talk that Roy and company may have encourged this hostiel takeover bid is a little naive. Comcast wants to be another huge multimedia conglomerate. And Disney, as far as they are concerned, would be just another perfect addition to the family and a great way of getting their products out to more people. I believe they had approached the Board some time last year to see if they were interested. Disney basically told them to take a hike. Thus the hostile takeover move today. But I agree that they will have to fork over much more money than they're offering. It's common to offer as low a bid as possible, and then work up from there. This could also be another version of Oracle/PeopleSoft. That has dragged on and has gotten really ugly. I expect the same here.
CTXRover
Well-Known Member
Why is that notion naive? I think not acknowledging that fact is more naive. Almost all the papers are saying Comcast is taking this chance when the board and Eisner are at their weakest in light of increased pressure they are getting from shareholders, especially Roy. I'm not saying Roy caused it, quite the contrary. There was talk about this Comcast thing WAY before Roy left and made his very persuading case to get Eisner out of there. But I think it is reasonable to assume that Comcast is taking the chance to do this now when the board and Eisner are under extreme pressures, mainly headed by Roy. And who knows, there are articles out there that say the board just might agree to something like this because it will solve a lot of the problems they are facing and pressures they are receiving from shareholders and Roy. Its more than just a coincedence Comcast is doing it now.