How a Comcast takeover will affect WDW Parks

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PacMan2006

Member
Granted I haven't been to this forum in a while, but this is the FIRST time I've heard about this.

Can people just briefly explain why in the world Disney is interested in having Comcast buy them? This kind of thing usually happens only when a company is in trouble, right? Disney is huge and always has been. They have to have money out the wazoo, even if their movies haven't been as successful as ten years ago.

So what is this all about? Thanks.
 
Disney2002

Disney2002

New Member
The Comcast buyout is classified as an unsolicited bid, which may be the beginning of a hostile takeover. When a company has low stock value relative to potential, and a board situation that could be swayed to sell (like disney), another company may come in and buy out the company. Disney, as it were, may not want the takeover, but due to the need to serve their shareholders, may have a certain obligation to accept a bid that pays a significant premium on the current stock price.
 
jrriddle

jrriddle

Well-Known Member
I allready posted this on another thread but it seems to aply here too:

Disney parks seen worth $18 billion
By Edward Carpenter, CBS MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 5:32 PM ET Feb. 11, 2004

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Walt Disney's amusement parks could be worth $15 to $18 billion, according to an analyst picking apart the entertainment giant after Comcast's $66 billion hostile takeover bid.While no one on Wall Street can guess exactly what will happen with Disney's (DIS: news, chart, profile) struggling parks, they wouldn't fit with Comcast's aim to sweeten its channel content, in the view of David Mantell, cable and media analyst for Loop Capital Markets.

The bid by Comcast (CMCSA: news, chart, profile) (CMCSK: news, chart, profile) is widely seen by analysts to be a move to acquire Disney-owned ESPN and ABC, as well as its stakes in the E! Entertainment, A&E and Lifetime cable channels and in the History Channel.

Although a top Comcast executive vowed that the parks would remain part of the Disney portfolio should the takeover bid succeed, Mantell said, "It's kind of hard to imagine the theme park side being a part of Comcast's business." Discuss the bid.

Disney has parks in California, Florida, France and Japan. Another is scheduled to open in 2005-06 in Hong Kong, according to Disney's Web site.

While Comcast probably wouldn't keep the parks over the long term, it has 21 million viewers to whom it could cross-market visits and vacations, Mantell said.

Entertainment companies that own amusement parks and could be potential Disney bidders include Vivendi Universal (V: news, chart, profile), Six Flags (PKS: news, chart, profile), Cedar Fair (FUN: news, chart, profile) and Viacom (VIA: news, chart, profile) (VIAB: news, chart, profile). Viacom owns a substantial stake in MarketWatch.com, the publisher of this report.

While the price tag of $15 to $18 billion doesn't necessarily eliminate any of the park companies as bidders, a potential suitor would have to carefully weigh the purchase price, the cyclical nature of the business and that amusement park attendance generally has faltered in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the war in Iraq, Mantell said.

"That's a pretty massive acquisition for anyone," Mantell said.

Annual revenue from Disney parks and resorts has tumbled
 
Pumbas Nakasak

Pumbas Nakasak

Heading for the great escape.
Originally posted by jrriddle
.

Annual revenue from Disney parks and resorts has tumbled
Click to expand...

So Eisner was lying in his speech yesterday? I honestly dont think hes that stupid. I was concerned that the tone of his speech was all about bottom line and margin and very short on buisness development.

If he cant see the destructive potential of his slash and burn tactics on the parks he dosent deserve the position.

I know nothing on this cable company, only what the analysts have been saying. Almost all have seen some benefit for Disney, Im sure they said it would make it bigger than TimeWarner and almost all pointed out the growing ground swell of opinion against Eisner and the board.

I cant understand the negative issues with the resorts and parks, WDW is the No1 tourist attraction in the world, if you cant make money on that you shouldnt be in buisness.
 
miles1

miles1

Active Member
Originally posted by Pumbas Nakasak
, WDW is the No1 tourist attraction in the world, if you cant make money on that you shouldnt be in buisness.
Click to expand...

Ford used to be the No. 1 automaker in the world. Look where they're at. You can always goof up a good thing.
 
Pumbas Nakasak

Pumbas Nakasak

Heading for the great escape.
Originally posted by miles1
Ford used to be the No. 1 automaker in the world. Look where they're at. You can always goof up a good thing.
Click to expand...

Mmmmm, is that why Ford cars built in the UK were referred to as Dagenham dustbins.

Thats my point, poor decisions and failing to respond to your customers is what many are accusing Eisner of, just like Fords cars were especially in Europe cr@p. However look at the Focus theyve turned things around. Still wouldnt buy one

:)
 
C

cloudboy

Well-Known Member
It's not like Disney is this little independant company now. They ARE a media giant! Look at all the stations and networks they own. They are equivalent to Comcast. Each owns a number of other - quite diverse - companies, many having to do with media.

I don't think it makes sense to think that Disney management (currently) is so focused on the parks and the animation studio that a merger would take it away. In fact, it seems to me that the current Disney management is too focused on other things like ABC and the other holdings that they are ignoring the parks and the animation, and Comcast is really pointing out that those two are some of the most valuable assets of the company and they need to be better looked-after.

The current Disney company is not the same as it was 30 years ago. While it wasn't bought out by a big company, it is pretty much a giant holding company that happens to have a really good name and some incredible theme parks.

Oh, and as far as everything being renamed Comcast - it seems to me that the Disney name has a heck of a lot more going for it than the Comcast one does. Wouldn't it make a lot more sense to name the new company Disney, and let Comcast just be the name for the Cable Provider division?
 
durhay

durhay

Active Member
Disney isn't some mom & pop grocery store. They too are a media empire that owns a hockey team. Getting bought up by Comcast won't change much, except bring the Disney channel into more homes. After the Pixar debacle, they deserve to be taken over.
 
Goofster

Goofster

Member
eh, this is all freaking me out a little. Comcast? I don't know. It just seems to me like some magic would be lost if Disney was swallowed up by the giant corporation. However, the news that Pixar may be building up a "white knight" dream team of companies to come in and counter Comcast's bid sounds amazingly good.

Go Pixar!
 
imagineer99

imagineer99

New Member
As of right now, the Comcast takeover is not going to take! It's too weak of an offer at this point. Disney can easily resist it.

Personally, I think that Microsoft will have to put more of an effort into make this happen...
 
CRO-Magnum

CRO-Magnum

Active Member
Don't Judge a Book...

I have read alot of emotional response to the Comcast offer, but very little in business analysis. The reality of takeovers is multi-dimensional.
1. 80% of takeovers fail to achieve stated cost savings goals espoused by executivesl. Comcast is focusing on the synergy of cable operator + content provider.
2. The management team taken over is typically the loser. Disney is a loser right now, it's management sucks. One of the most valued people at Disney left and now works for Comcast, Stephen Burke. Those mad about Disney shuttering and trying to sell the Disney Stores or how new parks are built on the cheap should be happy about the prodigal son's potential return. He is the one who made the Disney Store chain happen and he saved Disneyland Paris. Eisner wasn't the genius of post 1984 Disney, it was Gary Wilson!
3. Cost cutting is over, now growth is the focus. The recent spate of mergers is focused on growth in complimentary areas: Comcast wants to own a content provider like Time Warner.
4. Brand identity - Disney is one of the top 10 valued brands in the world, Comcast is not. If anything, they would kill the name Comcast, the last thing they would do is rebrand everything Comcast (save perhaps in the sports market).
5. Untapped Potential - that is the driver for Comcast. Disney should be a $100/share stock but it's not. Why? Because Eisner wants the quick and easy hits for cash (i.e. making the theme parks Disney Stores with attractions) vs. investment and synergy. Why is Living Seas only now being changed to Finding Nemo themeing? Why is Alien Encounter only now being rebranded with Lilo and Stitch? Why is there no place on disney.com where you can have a photo scrapbook, forums for discussion, planners with trip notes, etc.
I am not saying it's a guarantee nor that the wolf cannot be hiding in sheep's clothing, but neither am I willing to denounce the concept simply because it's a change.
 
S

Sissy4Short

New Member
...keeps going downhill...

I have been entertained by the magic of Disney since Disneyland opened and now live close to WDW and continue to chase the Magic that Walt Disney created. I went to Disneyland, at least, 15 to 20 times a year and know the criteria that Disney required and maintained at his Parks. I have several relatives and friends that were CM's and I have been a Passholder for many, many years.
When Walt Disney died and Mr. Eisner took over, the demise of Walt Disney's dreams, upkeep of the Parks and cleaniness of the Parks became something of the past. I remember that there was never any remants of yesterdays traffic i.e. trash, gum, graffiti and the like, in any of the areas of the waiting area and walkthru areas of the attractions. The paint was pristine, as were the rides. The CM's made you feel as if you were the only person in the Park. It was truly magical. Walt Disney's made his dreama reality and we were all a part of that dream everytime you walked into the Park.
When Mr. Esiner came in all of this became nonexistant, as it was a big cost factor, but this what separated his Parks from all the other parks. The total atmosphere changed and has continued to change. The Parks are still special and I still enjoy going to them but they don't reflect the "dream" that Walt Disney created.
So many attractions are gone and replaced with "moneymakers", such as all the gift shops and all the gift shops, did I mention the gift shops?
Now we have the chance of this "dream" being totally taked away from us. What needs to happen is that the Disney family needs to get back in control of their heirtage and continue to move ahead with a Walt Disney type of attitude.
Don't let this cable company continue to add to the dismise of a dream that we all have been a part of for many, many years.

DREAMS DO COME TRUE....they just need a visionary!
 
PeterAlt

PeterAlt

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Re: ...keeps going downhill...

Originally posted by Sissy4Short
When Walt Disney died and Mr. Eisner took over.....
Click to expand...

A quick correction. Eisner did not take over when Walt died!

A quick timeline....

1967 -- Walt Disney died, just finishing Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland and purchasing the land and developing pland for Walt Disney World. Roy Disney Sr., Walt's older brother, was made CEO of the company.

1968 -- Haunted Mansion at Disneyland was the first attraction to get built entirely without Walt's supervision.

1971 -- Walt Disney World opens with Contemporary Resort, Polynessian, and Fort Wilderness Campground. Roy Disney Sr. dies just two months after WDW opens! Roy's best Lieutenents Card Walker and Don Tantum and take over the company.

1974 - Pirates of the Caribbean opens at WDW

1975 - Space Mountain opens at WDW

1980 -- Big Thunder Mountain opens at WDW

1982 -- EPCOT opens

1983 -- Ron Miller, Walt's son-in-law is made CEO

1984 -- Ron Miller is fired, Micheal Eisner becomes CEO

1986 -- Living Seas opens at EPCOT, Star Tours opens at Disneyland

1987 -- Norway opens at EPCOT

1988 -- Grand Floridian Resort opens, Caribbean Beach Resort opens, Splash Mountain opens at Disneyland

1989 -- Wonders of Life opens at EPCOT, Disney-MGM Studios opens, Pleasure Island opens, Typhoon Lagoogn opens

1992 -- Splash Mountain opens at WDW

....and the building frenzy continued since then and has not stopped.
 
ltbeach

ltbeach

Member
ya know i posted a new thread a few days ago about a coup. now you may not believe me, but i called the entire iraqi freedom war almost exactly...back when it was just getting started. anyway, i was thinking that there was too many things going on all at the same time that seems like its all linked. all make eisner look bad. i just read an article on jimhillmedia that echos exactly what i was thinking. then i read that miramax wants to split from disney now too...and the head of miramax is a good friend of brian roberts, who is connected to roy disney. it just seems to be alot of things connected in an attempt to oust eisner
 
darthdarrel

darthdarrel

New Member
Re: Re: ...keeps going downhill...

Originally posted by PeterAlt
A quick correction. Eisner did not take over when Walt died!

A quick timeline....

1967 -- Walt Disney died, just finishing Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland and purchasing the land and developing pland for Walt Disney World. Roy Disney Sr., Walt's older brother, was made CEO of the company.

1968 -- Haunted Mansion at Disneyland was the first attraction to get built entirely without Walt's supervision.

1971 -- Walt Disney World opens with Contemporary Resort, Polynessian, and Fort Wilderness Campground. Roy Disney Sr. dies just two months after WDW opens! Roy's best Lieutenents Card Walker and Don Tantum and take over the company.

1974 - Pirates of the Caribbean opens at WDW

1975 - Space Mountain opens at WDW

1980 -- Big Thunder Mountain opens at WDW

1982 -- EPCOT opens

1983 -- Ron Miller, Walt's son-in-law is made CEO

1984 -- Ron Miller is fired, Micheal Eisner becomes CEO

1986 -- Living Seas opens at EPCOT, Star Tours opens at Disneyland


1987 -- Norway opens at EPCOT

1988 -- Grand Floridian Resort opens, Caribbean Beach Resort opens, Splash Mountain opens at Disneyland

1989 -- Wonders of Life opens at EPCOT, Disney-MGM Studios opens, Pleasure Island opens, Typhoon Lagoogn opens

1992 -- Splash Mountain opens at WDW

....and the building frenzy continued since then and has not stopped.
Click to expand...
You forgot that Frank wells is killed in a helicopter crash and the quality of Disney animated movies and theme parks goes down.
 

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