Bass Family Sells Stake in Disney

[Another Voice]

The news services are confirming a rumor that’s been floating around all morning. The Bass family, the former “white knights” that helped Roy Disney gain effective control of the company, has sold their stake in Disney both on the open market and to Disney itself. They had held close to 7% of the company and were widely seen as one of Disney’s best protections against a take-over. Disney will retain a substantial number of shares, but an even larger block will be put back on the market.

 

[YoHo]

This is kind of Scary. But at the same time, with recent events, the entire buisness community is topsey turvy. We may not see any negative repercussions from this for a while.

 

[Buzz2001]

Here's another

http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cg...ddle=ad_frame2_technology&s=AO6pVKRTjRGlzbmV5

 

[KidDurango]

I hope this is not seen entirely as a loss of faith in Disney by the Bass brothers. For one, according to this Bloomberg article, only Richard sold his stake, and Robert still maintains his. In addition, this was done to satisfy a margin call. So what it looks like to me is that Richard got himself into some serious financial trouble and had to bail himself out fast. For those of us who aren't billionaires, I equate this to making a bad wager or investment and having to sell your VCR to pay the debt. It doesn't mean you don't ever want to watch videotapes again, just that a VCR is luxury you can do without in the short term. I myself and looking to acquire as much stock as I can while the price is so low. I have faith that it will rebound, and when it does, I stand to make a fortune.

 

[lrodk]

I've been told by a source in the financial community that the Bass family sold 135 million shares to Goldman Sachs at prices ranging from $14.45-$14.50 most likely out of necessity (yesterday's closing price was $18.50). Although not confirmed, many believe that the Bass family had received a margin call and was forced to sell part of it's stake. It was certainly not a complete liquidation transaction as was the case with Warren Buffet. While others interpreted this as a definite statement that the Bass' had lost confidence in the company, that notion was vigorously denied today by Bass family members, namely Mr Bass' two sons who re-iterated their faith in the future prospects of The Walt Disney Company.

Disney's part in all of this was more a defensive move than anything else. They purchased 50 million of those shares at a slight discount to provide a base or support for the bid and ask prices during a day that would have otherwise seen the price gap down sharply as a result of the increased supply. As a result, Disney was forced to make a move they wouldn't have otherwise. They plunked down an amount in excess of $750,000,000 today in the deal. I'm also told that most of the other outstanding Bass shares, if not all, were sold by the close of trading today by Goldman. To add insult to injury, after the bell Disney announced additional layoffs/hourly reductions and confirmed a plan to reduce park operating hours. They also added that the Disney Cruise Line was seeing rampant cancellations in the wake of last weeks bombing. The news today was bad all the way around, and I expect Disney to trade lower tomorrow as a result.

Goldman Sachs was the only winner in this 3-way transaction. They were able to purchase 135 mill shares at a discounted price, and then sell them for a tidy profit(in this case roughly $200,000,000+).

 

[YoHo]

Can we confirm if it was only one? or both Bass boys?


Definatly now is the time if you have any liquid assets to invest. Not only will you make a killing, but you'll be helping the country as well.

 

[hopemax]

In the Marketwatch articles it says that Robert Bass divested his Disney stock 10 years ago.

 

[Dan Murfman]

This was in the New York Post today. He had to sell. According to article it was called an embarrassing margin call. And it was Sid Bass.

http://www.nypost.com/business/32837.htm

 

[JimB.]

CNBC also reported it was a margain call.

 

[Bob O]

I think its more of a bad reflection on sid bass than disney. He apparently made some bad margin investments and had to pay the piper when the bill came due.

 

[lrodk]

There were a lot of margin calls this week. The Bass' were not alone. We've seen drops in the DOW over the last week that have not been witnessed since 1938 and the Great Depression. These a truly trying times indeed.

 

[noblemickey]

The Bass family has been a strong supporter of Disney in the past, more particularly Michael Eisner. My concern is that a greatly weakened Disney Co. will once again be a target for a company who sees real value and has been less affected by the terrible event of Sept. 11. Eisner may not have done well by us stockholders and WDW lovers over the last several years but sometimes the Chairman you know can be better than the one you don't know. I hope and pray that Disney ie: WDW will see new attractions and be bigger and better than ever. But we are in a "WAR" now and we must unite behind our Country, President and our Men in Arms. GOD BLESS AMERICA AND GOD BLESS THE USA!

 

[YoHo]

Got this little tidbit off Yahoo Finance.

The markets closed up today and Disney closed up slightly.

Bass Family Retains 3 Percent of Disney
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Members of the Bass family of Fort Worth, Texas, and affiliated trusts hold about 60 million Walt Disney Co. (NYSEIS - news) shares, or nearly 3 percent of the company after selling off most of their stake last week, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.

The filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (news - web sites) followed last Thursday's widely reported sale of 135 million Disney shares by the billionaires and their various trusts.

Disney said it acquired 50 million of the shares and investment brokerage Goldman Sachs bought 85 million that it said it would resell to the public.

A spokesman for the Bass family could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday.

At June 30, Disney had about 2.1 billion shares outstanding. Disney shares ended trading on Monday up 3 cents at $17.90 on the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites).

The Bass family had ranked as the largest individual shareholders in Disney before the sale.