Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Holiday Gift Guide
Gift ideas & reviews for this holiday season
Start Browsing
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Technology
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Internet
Holiday Gift Guide
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
You Witness
The Great Debate
Blogs
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
You Witness News
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Media execs see deal opportunities in downturn
Fri Dec 5, 2008 6:58pm EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Anupreeta Das
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The media and technology sector, which has seen a spate of failed merger attempts in 2008, should brace for more aggressive dealmaking next year spurred by bargain-basement valuations.
Top executives at the Reuters Media Summit in New York this week said they saw increased opportunities for the strong to buy the weak, as the recession causes share prices to tumble further.
And with tight credit markets making it tough for many companies to borrow money for acquisitions, executives expect more creative deals, such as share swaps between distressed companies without a lot of cash.
IAC/InterActiveCorp Chief Executive Barry Diller said he was building a $2.2 billion stockpile of cash and could swoop in on a "cascade of acquisition opportunities" in the media and entertainment sectors.
"I don't think now is the time to buy frankly anything unless you desperately need it," Diller said, noting that valuations will only get lower in coming months as the economy worsens.
Chris DeWolfe, co-founder and CEO of MySpace, the social networking site owned by News Corp, was equally aggressive, pointing out that start-ups valued at between $200 million and $300 million just six months ago are now willing to sell themselves for as little as a tenth of that value.
With venture capital funding for start-ups expected to trickle off if the economy worsens, DeWolfe expects valuations to get even cheaper, creating more deal opportunities.
Such comments were echoed by many executives, from No.2 U.S. cable company Time Warner Cable Inc's Chief Financial Officer Robert Marcus to leading cinema chain Regal Entertainment Group's CEO Mike Campbell.
But they also said the low valuations would make target companies reluctant to sell unless they had to, and frozen lending markets also makes financing for deals tough.
CREATIVE DEALS
Take Two Interactive Software Inc CEO Strauss Zelnick, who turned down a takeover bid from larger video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc this year, said he expects more innovative dealmaking ahead.
"What you may see are stock-for-stock transactions, where people say, 'we don't really care about the stock value because the relevant fundamentals look attractive and there are synergies," he said.
Depressed stock prices also provide large, diversified media conglomerates the opportunity to make strategic buys of high-growth companies such as video game publishers or digital media providers, Zelnick said.
Media conglomerates, which typically trade at low price-to-earnings multiples, have sometimes shied away from buying smaller companies that trade at higher multiples for fear that the resulting dilution would anger shareholders, especially if a deal doesn't immediately add to earnings.
But the topsy-turvy market frees companies from these constraints and smart buyers could easily use the opportunity to do deals to boost their assets, Zelnick said. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
My Web
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Rent your way out of the credit crunch online
Also on Reuters
Jobless numbers spell hard times for unemployed
Tips are falling victim to financial crisis
Blog: Blog: Ask Adam Sandler a "Bedtime Stories" question
Video
Diller: hoard cash.
Play Video
More Video...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Recommended
Canadian PM wins suspension of Parliament | Video
Destructive Koobface virus turns up on Facebook
U.S. military sets high-stakes missile-shield test
U.S. job losses worst since 1974 as downturn deepens
"Koobface" virus turns up on Facebook
Auto aid still uncertain, job losses feared | Video
Minn. Senate recount nears end: Coleman leads
Climate history may explain empires' fall
Obama laying the groundwork for U.S. health reform
Town meetings start U.S. health reform effort | Video
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Head of Russian Orthodox church dies
Iraq's price of security
Driving for dollars
Rockefeller Center Tree lighting
Parliament suspended in Canada
Cruise ship stranded in Antarctica
Fate of Detroit bailout uncertain
Harper addresses nation
Bush's last White House tree
Honda exits F1
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Holiday Gift Guide
Gift ideas & reviews for this holiday season. Full Coverage
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.