Comcast makes offer to merge with Disney

[Mr D]

I honestly hope Comcast DOES buy into Disney.

Its a different world nowadays and we made it so...

Though it sounds bad it will allow for rapid changes, additions, shows or even new parks.
They can always exit later after making a profit. at the very least it would dramatically upstage Eisner and his "Walmarting" of Disney, or is it "K-marting"?


My prediction...Comcast wins at between 68-73 biliion in the final stage. Time: 30 days or less if Eisners steps down immediately.

 

[Another Voice]

Early morning "rumors"...

- Comcast and Disney have been talking off and on for years. In the past it was more of a merger of equals, but Disney's bad performance and Comcast's successful takeover of AT&T Broadband (essentially all those cable systems) shifted the balance of power.

- It's now a "hostile" takeover bid because Eisner feels he's not getting as big of a premium as he wants. Expect some heavy negotiation in the next couple weeks. The moment his personal demands are met the deal will be approved.

- You wondered why Disney's shareholder meeting is in Philadelphia. It's Comcast's hometown.

- Comcast is said to have plans to spin off the parks already – another deal that's been in the works as Disney for the last couple of years.

- This situation is exactly like 1984. Back then a series of corporate raiders was able to convince Wall Street that Disney was being mismanaged and that a potential buyer could run the company better. This is part of the reason why Comcast has lowered their deal, it no longer needs to be a friendly merger but can instead be an outright takeover because Comcast can use the same argument today.

- Already rumors of Microsoft and NBC Universal making counter bids are starting to spread. Viacom and News Corp may get in the game as well. Because of the way this is now happening the situation could spin out of either Eisner's or Comcast's control.

- Disney will not emerge from this as an independent company.

More later tonight…

 

[Mr D]

maybe 30 hours instead?

Thanks AV

 

[PamOKW]

Trading on Disney was halted and Disney released their 1st Quarter results.

LOS ANGELES, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co. (NYSEIS - News) reported a sharp rise in quarterly earnings on Wednesday, releasing its results earlier than planned in the face of an unsolicited takeover bid by Comcast Corp.(NasdaqNM:CMCSA - News)
Net income was $688 million, or 33 cents per share, in the fiscal first quarter ended in December, compared with $36 million, or 2 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.


The turmoil created by Roy Disney really pushed Disney into play. (They've been vulnerable for some time.) I agree that the chances of independent survival are slim. If you want Disney to fend off these hostile bids, it's Eisner who has to do it.

 

[Geoff_M]

Being in debt adds value to the company ?!?!? Only in America.

No, they aren't saying it adds value to Disney... they are saying the agreement to assume the debt adds cost to Comcast for the deal. When you total up the cost to "buy" the outstanding shares of Disney stock plus the cost of assuming the debt, the total effective cost to is $66B.

 

[crusader]

- Disney will not emerge from this as an independent company.

My thoughts exactly. Question is: who finally gets gobbled into whom and which side takes over?

Comcast is not the company you want Disney employees working for. There's got to be a better fit.

 

[Mr D]

DIS shares halted, oh oh, gonna be a news day...

 

[HappyMommy2]

Keep the comments coming, everybody--I'm not very business-savvy and I'm depending on you all to boil this news down into something that gives me an idea of what it might mean for those of us who truly love the traditional Disney.

I must say that I do have a bad feeling about this. In my mind (rightly or wrongly) the "cable company" ranks right down there on my "least-trusted" list with insurance salespeople and used car salespeople!

 

[Panthius]

If Comcast were to sell the Theme parks, it sure would be interesting if Roy and Stan, along with Pixar, were to buy this the Theme Parks along with the rights to the Classic Disney movies (both animation and other Classic non-animation Disney movies). This would bring back more of the traditional Disney company with the Theme Parks and Animation. In my opinion, the only problem would be the name. Would a Disney without the Disney name be the same?

Pan

 

[Another Voice]

"The turmoil created by Roy Disney really pushed Disney into play. "

The deal itself has been in the works for a long time, but it was with the participation of Eisner. The troubles have given Comcast the ability to drop Eisner from the picture and make this a takeover instead of a merger.

Disney's been in play, Roy just bodyblocked Eisner off the playing field.

 

[Geoff_M]

Speaking of "spinning off", I wonder if there would be any regulatory concerns about a major cable player owning one of the big three broadcast networks?

 

[wtg2000]

Being in debt adds value to the company ?!?!? Only in America.

I remember reading about this in the 1984 takeover bid. Disney bought a bunch of stuff to load debt and make the company more expensive to take over.

Disney will not emerge from this as an independent company.

To me, Disney is not an independent company. And I'm separating Disney the corporation from Disney the Walt legacy - the parks, the characters, and the animated films basically. To me, Walt's Disney has been taken over by Disney the corporation. I don't know anything about Comcast but if Walt's Disney were to be purchased by Roy or spun into a separate entity where the powers-that-be cared about re-instilling the values and quality of Walt's Disney, then this could be good.

 

[jcodespoti]

This was bound to happen sooner or later. I say the devil will be in the details. We need to found out what Comcasts plans are (or the plans of any other takeover/merger). This could be interesting.

Joe in CT

 

[Mr D]

 

[raidermatt]

To me, Walt's Disney has been taken over by Disney the corporation.

EXACTLY!

Others said this around here long ago...

Eisner did exactly what the Disney fans wanted him to save the company from. Of course it was years before that was apparent those outside the company. Even now, it is excused by many simply because it was done under the Disney banner.

 

[WDWHound]

The problem I see is that Disney need to make some tough decisions to bring some lost magic back to the parks. These decisions include moving away from cost cutting and a short term profit perspective and a return to a long term outlook with a serious financial investment in quality. These are not values supported by the street of most major corporations, and there fore I see this a a possible death knell for any hopes of Disney returning to the standards it once held.

AV: you have yet to offer your opinion on whether this is a good or bad idea. I for one, would be interested in your input.

 

[floridafam]

I see it like this.

It's a good thing.
Let Comcast handle all of the media aspects of Disney.

Roy and Stan can have the theme park business.

Eisner is out of a job.

I don't see any bad points here.

 

[DMoss3377]

When I heard about this on the news this morning, I knew I could come here and get all the information. I was quite worried when I heard the news. Change can be a very scary thing, and with something like this, it's hard to know whether it's a change for the better or worse.

Please keep the information flowing, I'll be hanging on everyone's words until this is all settled.

 

[WDWHound]

Originally posted by floridafam
I see it like this.

It's a good thing.
Let Comcast handle all of the media aspects of Disney.

Roy and Stan can have the theme park business.

Eisner is out of a job.

I don't see any bad points here.

If Roy and Stan somehow got the parks, I would agree. However, I doubt they could pull this off. The parks would be sold to the highest bidder, and I doubt that would be Roy and Stan.

 

[DisneyKidds]

What kind of scratch would Roy et. al have to come up with to acquire the Parks/Classic Disney part of the business?

If they could find a bank to back them they could create a whole new Disney stock to generate the cash to cover. I know I'd line up to buy.

Once Comcast sees the cash cow that the Parks are, will they become Eisnerized?

Lots 'o questions.