Can Eisner Survive?

[WDWHound]

Just about every article I've read on the Comcast bid suggests that Eisner will beforced out no matter what happens. Can anyone here see an outcome where Eisner survives as the head of Disney?

 

[KNWVIKING]

Somehow, I think ol' ME is grinning from ear-to-ear. He may totally lack any sense of creativity, but the s.o.b. is sneaky. I'll believe he's gone - when he's gone- the same as I'll believe Comcast will buy Disney only after the deal is done.

 

[daber]

The best quote I read is from Michael Holland head of Holland & Co, a money management firm in NYC. "This is the beginning of the end for the CEO reign for Michael Eisner. The only thing that would stop this train of events is a board that would exhibit weakness and subservience".
While we know it's true, would the board show this to all it's shareholders .....wait, they just paid ME how much the day after Pixar walked away? They've already shown the world they are in ME's back pocket.

 

[JDH]

he loves a fight. It vindicates his belief that "their all out to get me". I don't see him voluntarily leaving for the "good of the company" as he truly believes he is the company.

To me, at least, it would have been smarter for Comcast and any other interested parties to play Ei$ner and pimp him so it looks like it his idea from the get go. Keep feeding his ego until he grabs the gold Mickey watch and head off into the sunset. Kind of like dealing with a kid who needs to do something that would help himself as well as everyone else but fights it when it's presented in a direct manner.

 

[Goofyposter]

JDH wrote:

.....as he truly believes he is the company.

And therein lies the root of the problems!!

 

[manning]

From the fool.com


Eisners's Last Stand
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz (TMF Edible)

If you are Disney (NYSE: DIS) CEO Michael Eisner, time is not on your side. Two months ago, Roy Disney Jr. and Stanley Gold started flaming your performance as they stepped down from the company's board. Last month, it was Pixar's (Nasdaq: PIXR) Steve Jobs slinging pain as he broke off contract negotiations for what had been a lucrative partnership for Disney. This month, it was Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) arguing that your company's assets would be better milked with fresher hands. Next month? Maybe you should call in sick to what will be a heated annual meeting.

With monthly dissidents like these who needs a calendar?

It's pretty clear now that Eisner's days as the head of Disney are numbered. Don't worry, he's packing a beauty of a golden parachute. The only thing that may hurt on the way out is swallowed pride.

The shame here is that Disney was starting to look pretty good in the near term. Fresh attractions are being constructed at the parks just as the tourism industry is starting to pick up. ABC's ratings are still in the cellar, but the ad market is improving, and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC will have some voids in the fall season. Thanks to the surprising success of Pirates of the Caribbean, the company's brand name in live action flicks got some needed dusting. And, sure, Pixar may be ready to bolt come 2006, but it's still got two more features to release through Disney's distribution channels.

So if the mad rush to trip up Eisner almost feels orchestrated, well, it is. Everyone smells blood and waiting for the clotting process may make the hunt obsolete. Roy and Stanley realize that their voices would grow quieter as Disney's fiscal performance grows louder. Pixar's bargaining chips wouldn't be as heavy in demanding as much as it had, if Disney wasn't perceived as such an in-house lightweight in animation of late. And Comcast? If Disney's fortunes were to improve in the short term, the reasons to sell would diminish as the asking price would spike.

But that doesn't help Eisner now. He's caught in the web. He can't argue that Comcast's offer is insultingly low because his own efforts couldn't get the share price that high. He can't afford to lob shots at someone like Roy who bears the family name of the company he's running. The thorny ripcord is the only way out. Sure. It will hurt. But then the clotting process will have all the time in the world to heal.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz owns shares in both Disney and Pixar.

 

[airlarry!]

I think Rick's got it right...ME is not smiling at all.

Ei$ner had it all planned. He would sell out DIS to the highest bidder...by decreasing Disney's investment in the parks, driving the price up, and merging/combining/corporatespeak for selling the company to a Big Media Company.

I mean, we've heard rumors of Time Warner, Microsoft, ComCast for a year or so right?

It all fits...but Ei$ner apparently was too greedy. He asked for too much money, and in an effort to embarass him with the low stock price, the bad news on Pixar, and Roy's Round-up, Comcast figured going public would force Ei$ner's hand and getter a better deal. Either that or they thought he was irrelevant.

Either way, Ei$ner still is happy because he is about to be rich enough to buy All of Central Park, not just his little block.

He's just not going to go out on his own terms, with the adulation of people who would have thought, Ei$ner was doing the sale for the good of the company, until Roy exposed the man, the company, and the business dealings for what they really are.

 

[wdw4us2]

Can Eisner survive?

I sincerely hope not!!!

Although I'm sure $750 million will make it less painful.

 

[Peter Pirate]

airlarry (and others) I think underestimating Eisner is one of biggest mistakes people make. Further, he doesn't look scared or act scared, in fact it looks like he's up to another fight.

I'm not really commenting on whether he'll stay or go but I think to count eggs as chickens prior to hatching is a BIG mistake.

 

[Another Voice]

While it's true that Einser's greed should never be underestimated, there is a slightly differnet feel this time.

So some reason (and I haven't figured out why), he's acting like the struggling business owner who gets all dressed up and puts on airs as he goes to a bank asking for a loan; he figures that somehow if he acts like he doesn't need the money that the bank will be more willing to give it to him.

Whispers are his Temple Complex say he is scared at this point, certainly the Company has never put together such a massive and prolonged propaganda blitz as the one that's been mounted since Roy left.

But a better sign is that more people than not on Wall Street say Eisner's time is over. Naked Mike based is power inside the company by claiming only he had the backing of the money people. Without their support he has no control.

 

[manning]

Time .......... time is the ally here!

Let's hope during that time some of the right people can come up with the right answers.

 

[Mr D]

AV, if you have access to the markets keep an eye on the major contenders involved (Pixar,Comcast, etc.) and watch the volumnes of trading. I'm expecting DIS stock to start falling maybe over $5 per share. At the lest it should fall about $1.75-3.00 in the first two hours come next trading session.
Now that Pixar is probing into the bidding circus others may side in as Pixar has an excellant credit rating, they have a good chance of attracting other investors or more realistically all those in power and control that used to be under the ME influence. I hope Roy can gather up all the past people the ME has fired and or had disagreements with and rally them together.