Latest news with #mediaacquisition
Forbes
09-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Disney, Hearst To Sell A+E: Handicapping Who And What's Next
VOD service screen. Man watching TV with remote control in hand. Disney and Hearst, the 50/50 owners of A+E Global Media, announced yesterday that after sharing control of the company and its networks for most of the last 40 years, they are putting it up for sale. Pardon me if this is beginning to sound a bit too familiar. A major media company – in this case two of them – are planning to sell off a group of cable networks. It's yet another step in the dismantling of cable's yellow brick road. What is the pathway for financial success here? For those cord cutters and cord 'nevers' out there – hello students – A+E is one of the foundational brands of the multichannel universe. The A+E network was launched in 1984 by ABC (purchased by Disney in 1996), Hearst and NBC. It initially picked up the baton from the long-forgotten CBS Cable, a performing arts network, although that focus is hard to see in the rearview mirror. Today it includes a stable of networks such as Lifetime, The History Channel, and Vice TV as well as a host of streamed channels encompassing the content from these networks. Its most recognizable shows include Duck Dynasty, Hoarders, Biography, Storage Wars and The First 48 among many others. A+E has been rumored to be attractive target for other media companies for many years, but its success always kept it independent. Frankly, it just kept sending money back to its owners every year, so why tamper with a good thing? But the payouts in the hundreds of millions of dollars per year - what Disney refers to in its financial reports as 'equity in the income of investees' - peaked in 2023 and are on a glidepath downward. The A+E owners have made their decision to sell, and the question for the market is who is going to buy and what does that look like? There are several scenarios with various degrees of plausibility. The 'Big Media' route: Is there a fit? Each of the major media companies has in some fashion been searching for ways to shed rather than add cable network assets, but they are also creating new entities that might find at least find some cost savings in an A+E purchase. The 'Big Streamers' – Do they need networks? Do all roads lead to private equity?
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
LVMH Acquires French Media Group Bey Médias
NEWSMAKER: LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is continuing to expand its media footprint with the acquisition of French media group Bey Médias. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. More from WWD Moynat Opens Avenue Montaigne Boutique Jonathan Anderson's Dior Debut Draws Daniel Craig, Robert Pattinson, TXT and Rihanna Jonathan Anderson on Building His Dior World, One Show at a Time The luxury group was already a minority shareholder of the company, which publishes daily newspaper L'Opinion and financial news website L'Agefi. It has bought the stakes of founder Nicolas Beytout as well as those of other shareholders including Théthys, which is owned by L'Oréal's Bettencourt founding family; American businessman Ken Fisher, and Dow Jones, the group owned by media titan Rupert Murdoch. According to sources with knowledge of the matter, the acquisition was done through the group's Ufipar subsidiary. L'Opinion and L'Agefi will be in an entity distinct from the Les Échos – Le Parisien group. It is understood that the publications' editorial structures and teams would remain in place. Beytout will continue to serve as the media group's president as well as president and publishing director of L'Opinion, with Rémi Godeau remaining as editor in chief. Meanwhile, Alexandre Garabedian is staying as editorial director of L'Agefi. L'Opinion and parent company Bey Médias were created in 2013 by Beytout, former president of Les Echos – purchased by LVMH in 2007 – and former editorial director of Le Figaro. At the time, they received financing from the French luxury group to launch. Known for its liberal and pro-European stance, it has a partnership with Dow Jones-owned Wall Street Journal, allowing it to translate and publish articles drawn from the American publication. In 2019, Bey Médias acquired L'Agefi, a 114-year-old publication then owned by Artémis, the Pinault family's holding company. Last year, the media group entered unsuccessful negotiations with Czech billionaire businessman Daniel Kretinsky. Prior to that, it was in talks with French-Lebanese global transport tycoon Rodolphe Saadé, who owns several media including business news site La Tribune and TV channel BFMTV. LVMH also owns French people magazine Paris Match, acquired in October, and has owned daily newspaper Le Parisien and its national counterpart, Aujourd'hui en France, since 2015. Best of WWD EXCLUSIVE: Sean Combs Regains Control of Sean John Brand Isabel Marant Said in Play Again: Sources Holding Industriale Invests in Shoe Specialist Valmor Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNN
23-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
Private equity firm buys The Telegraph, ending two-year saga
RedBird Capital Partners announced on Friday that it has purchased Telegraph Media Group for £500 million (nearly $675 million), concluding a protracted bid to acquire the news company. The deal makes US-based RedBird the sole controlling owner of The Telegraph, the right-leaning British news outlet founded in 1855. Per the deal, RedBird will invest funds in The Telegraph's digital operations to help continue growing subscriptions and expand the outlet's foothold in the United States, where RedBird already has a constellation of media investments. The deal comes after RedBird struggled for two years to acquire The Telegraph, stymied in large part by a conservative British government that restricted foreign governments from owning newspapers and capped foreign state-owned investment by a publisher at 15%. The UK's Labour Party, which swept into power in July 2024, announced last week that it would relax restrictions on foreign investment. 'This transaction marks the start of a new era for The Telegraph as we look to grow the brand in the UK and internationally, invest in its technology and expand its subscriber base,' RedBird CEO Gerry Cardinale said in a statement. Get Reliable Sources newsletter Sign up here to receive Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter in your inbox. In January 2024, Jeff Zucker, the former CNN president, flew to London to pitch a takeover of the media company to Ofcom on behalf of RedBird IMI, where he is the chief executive. The Telegraph went up for sale in 2023 after Lloyds Banking Group took control of unpaid debts from the Barclay family, which acquired the newspaper in 2004. The Barclay family regained control of the Telegraph in December 2023 with the help of a loan from RedBird IMI, an Abu Dhabi-backed joint venture. However, the British government blocked the transfer of ownership to RedBird. The Friday deal avoided that rule by providing IMI only a minority share in the paper. RedBird's focus on the US market comes as other British media outlets, including the BBC, The Guardian, and The Independent, have expanded their US coverage, often to great success. According to a May report, The Guardian grew its overall revenue by 25% on year, while The Independent in January reported a 75% year-over-year audience increase. RedBird has major investments in media, entertainment, and sports in the UK. In 2024, the firm acquired All3Media, a British film and TV production and distribution company. The company also has a stake in the Premier League soccer club Liverpool and owns AC Milan in Italy's Serie A. RedBird will also acquire the UK's Channel 5 if Paramount Global's merger with Skydance is approved. RedBird has also invested in Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's Artists Equity, LeBron James and Maverick Carter's SpringHill Company, the YES Network, and has helped Skydance finance several productions, including Amazon's 'Reacher' and Paramount's 'Top Gun: Maverick.'
CNN
23-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
Private equity firm buys The Telegraph, ending two-year saga
RedBird Capital Partners announced on Friday that it has purchased Telegraph Media Group for £500 million (nearly $675 million), concluding a protracted bid to acquire the news company. The deal makes US-based RedBird the sole controlling owner of The Telegraph, the right-leaning British news outlet founded in 1855. Per the deal, RedBird will invest funds in The Telegraph's digital operations to help continue growing subscriptions and expand the outlet's foothold in the United States, where RedBird already has a constellation of media investments. The deal comes after RedBird struggled for two years to acquire The Telegraph, stymied in large part by a conservative British government that restricted foreign governments from owning newspapers and capped foreign state-owned investment by a publisher at 15%. The UK's Labour Party, which swept into power in July 2024, announced last week that it would relax restrictions on foreign investment. 'This transaction marks the start of a new era for The Telegraph as we look to grow the brand in the UK and internationally, invest in its technology and expand its subscriber base,' RedBird CEO Gerry Cardinale said in a statement. Get Reliable Sources newsletter Sign up here to receive Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter in your inbox. In January 2024, Jeff Zucker, the former CNN president, flew to London to pitch a takeover of the media company to Ofcom on behalf of RedBird IMI, where he is the chief executive. The Telegraph went up for sale in 2023 after Lloyds Banking Group took control of unpaid debts from the Barclay family, which acquired the newspaper in 2004. The Barclay family regained control of the Telegraph in December 2023 with the help of a loan from RedBird IMI, an Abu Dhabi-backed joint venture. However, the British government blocked the transfer of ownership to RedBird. The Friday deal avoided that rule by providing IMI only a minority share in the paper. RedBird's focus on the US market comes as other British media outlets, including the BBC, The Guardian, and The Independent, have expanded their US coverage, often to great success. According to a May report, The Guardian grew its overall revenue by 25% on year, while The Independent in January reported a 75% year-over-year audience increase. RedBird has major investments in media, entertainment, and sports in the UK. In 2024, the firm acquired All3Media, a British film and TV production and distribution company. The company also has a stake in the Premier League soccer club Liverpool and owns AC Milan in Italy's Serie A. RedBird will also acquire the UK's Channel 5 if Paramount Global's merger with Skydance is approved. RedBird has also invested in Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's Artists Equity, LeBron James and Maverick Carter's SpringHill Company, the YES Network, and has helped Skydance finance several productions, including Amazon's 'Reacher' and Paramount's 'Top Gun: Maverick.'
Al Jazeera
23-05-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
US investment Firm RedBird to buy Telegraph newspaper
A consortium led by US investment firm RedBird Capital Partners has agreed to buy the publisher of the United Kingdom's 170-year-old Daily Telegraph newspaper for about $674m (500 million pounds). Redbird said it has reached an agreement in principle to become controlling owner of the Telegraph Media Group, ending a lengthy takeover saga for the conservative-leaning newspaper on Friday. Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner of RedBird, said the sale 'marks the start of a new era for The Telegraph as we look to grow the brand in the UK and internationally, invest in its technology and expand its subscriber base'. The Telegraph group, previously owned by the UK's Barclay family, was put up for sale two years ago to help pay off the family's debts. It publishes the Daily and Sunday Telegraph newspapers and weekly newsmagazine The Spectator, which all are closely allied to the UK's Conservative Party. In 2023, there was an offer to buy the publications from RedBird IMI, a consortium backed by RedBird Capital Partners and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi's royal family and the vice president of the United Arab Emirates. But the consortium pulled out last year following strong opposition from the UK government, which launched legislation to block foreign state ownership of the British press. Under the deal, Abu Dhabi's IMI will take a minority stake of not more than 15 percent in the Telegraph as a member of the consortium. The sale must be approved by British regulators. RedBird has investments in football team AC Milan, the parent company of Liverpool football club and film production company Skydance. Telegraph Media Group chief executive Anna Jones said that 'RedBird Capital Partners have exciting growth plans that build on our success — and will unlock our full potential across the breadth of our business.' The Spectator was sold in September to British hedge fund investor Paul Marshall.
