Could Disney face another hostile takeover attempt?

[lazyboy97o]

I just wonder how they can do rehabs, finish them, and then not be able to actually open afterwards.

They just do them. There is no issue with the how. The work waits for opening.

Unfortunately, the fallout from the pandemic will surely outlast the pandemic itself, just as the fallout from 9/11 outlasted 9/11 itself.

Selling any or all of their stakes in Hong Kong Disneyland or Shanghai Disney Resort would not just be related to the pandemic. It would be an extreme measure in response to political issues.

But it seems as though places cannot truly reopen until things can go back to normal (as in, before the pandemic hit), and the only way to do that, in this case, is with a medication or something that can actually, directly, literally control the virus. I was told that various types of medications have been treated, with much success.

Yes, a treatment is needed but again that treatment needs to be safe.

 

[mharrington]

They just do them. There is no issue with the how. The work waits for opening.

Exactly. That's my point. They can do the work, but it won't mean much if they have to wait to reopen.

Selling any or all of their stakes in Hong Kong Disneyland or Shanghai Disney Resort would not just be related to the pandemic. It would be an extreme measure in response to political issues.

The only thing I think would work is if they asked whoever bought to pay royalties, like with Tokyo.

Yes, a treatment is needed but again that treatment needs to be safe.

Yes, but my feeling is that a treatment is needed in order for things to go back to normal, because apparently nothing can truly reopen (least of all in California, apparently) until things are normal.

I looked at this article (for starters): https://www.gamespot.com/articles/amc-theaters-postpones-reopening-again-following-m/1100-6479104/

Exactly. That is a perfect example: it seems theaters cannot reopen until things are "normal" again. Chances are, that July 30 reopening date will get pushed back yet again.

And incidentally, in my area, there are no AMC theaters anyway, only Cinemark and Regal.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Exactly. That's my point. They can do the work, but it won't mean much if they have to wait to reopen.

It would mean the work is complete.

The only thing I think would work is if they asked whoever bought to pay royalties, like with Tokyo.

The Chinese parks already pay royalties.

Yes, but my feeling is that a treatment is needed in order for things to go back to normal, because apparently nothing can truly reopen (least of all in California, apparently) until things are normal.

Nobody is disputing the need for a treatment or preventative. But you can’t just will those into existence. Medicine can be a lot of trial and error.

 

[mharrington]

It would mean the work is complete.

But it's not 100% complete until it's open and ready, is it?

The Chinese parks already pay royalties.

Then what's the big deal with this new cold war?

Nobody is disputing the need for a treatment or preventative. But you can’t just will those into existence. Medicine can be a lot of trial and error.

I never disputed the need for anything. But it seems as though we're under perpetual lockdown until they do become existent. I'm guessing that nothing will ever truly reopen, least of all in California, until they do.

 

[lazyboy97o]

But it's not 100% complete until it's open and ready, is it?

Many things continue to be worked on even after opening. Those things aren’t complete but they’re open.

Then what's the big deal with this new cold war?

Political and economic destabilization. Lack of access to markets and cash. Loss of assets. Negative public perception.

I never disputed the need for anything. But it seems as though we're under perpetual lockdown until they do become existent. I'm guessing that nothing will ever truly reopen, least of all in California, until they do.

Most of the world is reopening and keeping cases low. California’s cases increased. It’s entirely possible for California to get cases back under control.

 

[MisterPenguin]

And now (to try and get this thread back on track), I have heard from @WDW Pro that the virus has taken its toll on Disney, with them facing the threat of having to push the so-called "big red button" (https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/the-red-button-option.966421/) and get rid of the Shanghai and Hong Kong parks, because by September (two months away, mind you), they will have only $6 billion on hand, which apparently is unsustainable.

How many other insiders or mainstream news sources have corroborated this? Disney selling off HK and Shanghai would be huge news. Any journalist reporting that this is indeed in the mix?

 

[Lilofan]

How many other insiders or mainstream news sources have corroborated this? Disney selling off HK and Shanghai would be huge news. Any journalist reporting that that is indeed in the mix?

Iger and Chapek need to come out and say what's on the horizon on August 4 during the earnings call.

 

[mharrington]

Most of the world is reopening and keeping cases low. California’s cases increased. It’s entirely possible for California to get cases back under control.

But it seems as though the only way to get the cases back under control is to control that which is causing the cases to increase (i.e., this virus), and the only way to do that is with a treatment or vaccine of some kind.

 

[Disney Irish]

But it seems as though the only way to get the cases back under control is to control that which is causing the cases to increase (i.e., this virus), and the only way to do that is with a treatment or vaccine of some kind.

There are other ways to control the virus, including what Newsom in California is doing, which is to roll back some of things being opened. Make sure everyone is wearing a mask. And then slowly reopening again when the cases come down.

This is something that has been said over and over but no one really paid attention to it. That its not going to be a turn on the faucet full blast reopening in California. You turn on the faucet slowly and start trickling out the opening of businesses. And if things get to hot with cases you slow things down by turning off the faucet as needed.

Some people myself included thought most Californians would take social distancing including wearing masks more seriously. And that things would be able to reopen quicker because cases would stay low. But that just didn't happen. And so we have to slow things down, take a pause, let cases come down, and then attempt to reopen again slowly.

We'll see how everyone does the second time. But get this thread back on track, Disneyland will be fine and will reopen when it can. And Disney will be fine. I wouldn't worry about the Red Button thread at this point. No business decision like that is going to happen prior to the November election.

 

[mharrington]

There are other ways to control the virus, including what Newsom in California is doing, which is to roll back some of things being opened. Make sure everyone is wearing a mask. And then slowly reopening again when the cases come down.

This is something that has been said over and over but no one really paid attention to it. That its not going to be a turn on the faucet full blast reopening in California. You turn on the faucet slowly and start trickling out the opening of businesses. And if things get to hot with cases you slow things down by turning off the faucet as needed.

Some people myself included thought most Californians would take social distancing including wearing masks more seriously. And that things would be able to reopen quicker because cases would stay low. But that just didn't happen. And so we have to slow things down, take a pause, let cases come down, and then attempt to reopen again slowly.

We'll see how everyone does the second time. But get this back on track, Disneyland will be fine and will reopen when it can. And Disney will be fine. I wouldn't worry about the Red Button thread at this point. No business decision like that is going to happen prior to the November election.

Exactly. Not everyone really took this seriously enough (mainly because they thought that being told what to do was an infringement on their rights). And so it seems as though the cases will not come down until a treatment, vaccine or whatever comes out, which can then force the cases down and then prevent them from ever being an issue again. I just don't think that cases will ever truly go back down unless it is forced to. If the people didn't take this seriously enough the first time, I don't think they would take it seriously the second time.

But in the meantime, while cases remain stubbornly high, businesses (including Disney) are losing money.

 

[Disney Irish]

Exactly. Not everyone really took this seriously enough (mainly because they thought that being told what to do was an infringement on their rights). And so it seems as though the cases will not come down until a treatment, vaccine or whatever comes out, which can then force the cases down and then prevent them from ever being an issue again. I just don't think that cases will ever truly go back down unless it is forced to. If the people didn't take this seriously enough the first time, I don't think they would take it seriously the second time.

But in the meantime, while cases remain stubbornly high, businesses (including Disney) are losing money.

Its been a short period of time since California "paused" things. You have to let it play out and see what happens. Eventually cases will come down as more people are forced to follow the rules. And yes a vaccine and other treatments will help, but again not the only way for cases to come down. However there is positive news on both those fronts recently. Such as Pfizer reaching an agreement with the US for 600 million doses of their vaccine once approved by the FDA. That means every American would get a dose of the vaccine, and I suspect either for free or inexpensive, similar to the Polio vaccine. So there is hope on the horizon.

Anyways, lets not turn this into yet another COVID19 thread.

Getting this thread back-on-track. Yes Disney is losing money, but less so now that WDW and DLP are both reopened. D+ is doing well and will continue to do well during this time of uncertainty. We'll see how things look on August 4th during the earnings call. But I suspect Disney is not in as dire straits as some would like you to think. And again going back to what this thread is about, no I still don't think Disney is at risk of being taken over by another company.

 

[mharrington]

Yes Disney is losing money, but less so now that WDW and DLP are both reopened. D+ is doing well and will continue to do well during this time of uncertainty. We'll see how things look on August 4th during the earnings call. But I suspect Disney is not in as dire straits as some would like you to think.

Maybe you should tell that last part to @WDW Pro.

 

[Disney Irish]

Maybe you should tell that last part to @WDW Pro.

That poster can post whatever they want. We'll all learn over the course of the next few month whether its true or not. Not my job to tell them anything.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Maybe you should tell that last part to @WDW Pro.

You can’t take everything you read as truth. A lot of this thread is you taking something from some random person, assuming it is absolutely true and then extrapolating based on your fears.

 

[mharrington]

You can’t take everything you read as truth. A lot of this thread is you taking something from some random person, assuming it is absolutely true and then extrapolating based on your fears.

It's hard to disagree with someone who seems to know the inner workings. This is why I will often reach out to someone who seems to have a better track record, such as @marni1971. He's not quite as pessimistic as @WDW Pro.

 

[Disney Irish]

It's hard to disagree with someone who seems to know the inner workings. This is why I will often reach out to someone who seems to have a better track record, such as @marni1971. He's not quite as pessimistic as @WDW Pro.

As Lazyboy indicated you can't take everything posted on an anonymous forum as truth. Just because someone is trusted as an "insider" you have to treat everything they state with a HUGE grain of salt. They could have outdated information, they could have false information, they could be putting their own personal spin on the information. Point is you can't take everything posted as gospel.

 

[mharrington]

As Lazyboy indicated you can't take everything posted on an anonymous forum as truth. Just because someone is trusted as an "insider" you have to treat everything they state with a HUGE grain of salt. They could have outdated information, they could have false information, they could be putting their own personal spin on the information. Point is you can't take everything posted as gospel.

A person can be entitled to an opinion, but not to their own facts. Also, whatever happened to Bob Iger being on Newsom's task force? I haven't really heard anything about it lately (not since May or so).

Also, while Disney Plus has been doing well enough, I keep reading about how it will be a few years or so before it becomes profitable.

 

[Lilofan]

We'll see how things look on August 4th during the earnings call. But I suspect Disney is not in as dire straits as some would like you to think. And again going back to what this thread is about, no I still don't think Disney is at risk of being taken over by another company.

Disneyland faces 32 million attendance drop over 2 years, analysts warn

A new report by Wall Street analysts Cowen and Company paints a grim picture of attendance losses at Disney’s Parks, Experiences and Products division.

www.ocregister.com

After reading this Wall Street article I would beg to differ. Takeover ? That's debatable if financial numbers continue to decline.

 

[lazyboy97o]

A person can be entitled to an opinion, but not to their own facts. Also, whatever happened to Bob Iger being on Newsom's task force? I haven't really heard anything about it lately (not since May or so).

Also, while Disney Plus has been doing well enough, I keep reading about how it will be a few years or so before it becomes profitable.

Just because someone says something is fact does not mean it is fact. They could be anything from misinformed to outright lying.

It is possible for a company to survive and still not be profitable if there is strong confidence in future profitability. Just days ago Tesla announced their first ever fourth consecutive profitable quarter.

 

[Dead2009]

Can we all agree that the OP is hoping (at least anyway) someone will come in and buy the parks from Disney?