The mountains are as gorgeous as ever, the deal climate not so much as boutique investment bank Allen & Co. prepares to host its annual Sun Valley retreat. After guests arrive on Tuesday, official activities get under way Wednesday. The annual ritual of media-mogul whitewater rafting and shop talk is a 40-year, post-July 4 tradition.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Media and telecom M&A activity was lively in the first half of 2022 with deals for the 12 months ending May 15 totaling 1,014, up 28% year-on-year, with a record total value $469 billion. The tally was inflated by Elon Musk’s high-profile $44 billion bid for Twitter and Microsoft’s planned $68 billion acquisition of Activision
Talent Systems, which makes software for casting and auditioning, has made two significant acquisitions in the unscripted and reality TV sector. One deal is for the eTribez casting platform, which has been used for major reality shows Survivor, Big Brother, Idol, Love Island and MasterChef. The other is for Staff Me Up, a production crew
In a streaming deal struck with an eye toward the current high-inflation economic environment facing consumers, Crackle parent Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is acquiring Redbox. Founded in the heyday of DVDs two decades ago, Redbox is best known for its network of 38,000 bright red, disk-dispensing kiosks at convenience and grocery stores. It
Shares in Warner Bros Discovery gained more than 5% to finish the trading day at $25.97 after earlier rising as much as 11% with a few more bulls piling into the new stock. It is just the third day of trading for WBD, which moved sideways yesterday after starting off on Monday at $24.08. WarnerMedia
Discovery shareholders are set to OK the $43 billion merger with WarnerMedia on Friday, the last big step before AT&T completes the spinoff. Ahead of the deal’s expected close next month, a who’s-in/who’s-out parlor game is gaining intensity as CEO David Zaslav finalizes the leadership team. Top managers who have been with the exec for
A few days after WarnerMedia said HBO and HBO Max ended 2021 with 73.8 million global subscribers, ad sales president JP Colaco said consumers had been enticed to “sign up in droves” for its cheaper, ad-supported tier. In an online appearance at the TV of Tomorrow Show, the exec declined to provide a breakout of
Cinedigm, which has been steadily expanding its streaming portfolio in recent years, is adding 10 new channels, 7,500 titles and entering the ad network business by acquiring Digital Media Rights. Founded by Michael Hong and David Chu, DMR is a distributor, channel and ad network operator and social video curator. The privately held company is
A surge in demand for content, big companies shedding non-core assets and consolidation in digital media led to a massive rebound in entertainment M&A in 2021, ushered in by two landmark combinations in April and ending with an drumbeat of deals in December. Momentum is seen continuing into 2022 with a major asset, Starz, officially
Embracer Group, a Swedish video game holding company, unveiled plans to buy Dark Horse Media, the comic book and entertainment group founded and led by Mike Richardson. Dark Horse, with operations in LA and Milwaukie, Oregon owns or controls more than 300 intellectual properties and has 181 employees across business units, Dark Horse Comics, which
Discovery CEO David Zaslav tried to drum up enthusiasm for the company’s upcoming merger with WarnerMedia, a deal that needs a little love given the ho-hum stock prices of both companies involved since it was announced last May with a very long lead time — not expected to close until the middle of next year.