| |
|
Wall Street History
https://www.gofundme.com/s3h2w8
|
09/10/1999
Viacom/CBS - Other Media Deals
The announcement on Tuesday of a merger between media
giants Viacom and CBS was certainly a blockbuster and many
analysts (like Jessica Reif Cohen of Merrill Lynch) seem to think
that this is a marriage made in heaven.
Perhaps the greatest synergies in the transaction derive from the
cross marketing opportunities between Viacom assets like MTV,
VH-1, Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures with CBS television
and radio stations as well as outdoor advertising. Total
advertising revenue for the combined company is estimated at
$11 billion a year, nearly twice that of the current leader, Rupert
Murdoch''s News Corporation. [Source: New York Times /
Lawrie Mifflin]
The new company, which will retain the Viacom name, will be
run by 76-year old Viacom chairman, Sumner Redstone, while
the 56-year old Mel Karmazin, currently CEO of CBS will be
president and chief operating officer of Viacom with all units of
the combined entity reporting to him. Karmazin is a Wall Street
darling and will take over for Redstone upon his retirement.
In light of the historic nature of the deal, I thought it might be
useful to list the acquisitions in the entertainment industry over
the past 13 plus years. [Courtesy of the Associated Press and the
Star-Ledger]
-----------------
Jan. 3, 1986: Capital Cities purchases ABC for $3.5 billion to
create Capital Cities/ABC Inc.
June 9, 1986: GE buys RCA, parent company of NBC and the
NBC television network for $6.4 billion. At the time, the deal
was the largest non-oil acquisition in U.S. history.
Nov. 7, 1989: Sony buys film and television producer Columbia
Pictures for $3.4 billion.
Jan. 10, 1990: Warner Communications and Time Inc. complete
$14.1 billion merger, creating world''s biggest media
conglomerate.
Jan. 3, 1991: Matsushita Electric of Japan buys MCA Inc. for
$6.9 billion.
July 7, 1994: Viacom buys Paramount Communications for $10
billion after winning a bidding war against QVC to buy the
movie, publishing and sports company.
Aug. 29, 1994: Viacom buys video rental chain Blockbuster
Entertainment for $8 billion.
June 5, 1995: Seagram buys MCA from Matsushita for $5.7
billion and renames it Universal Studios. Hmm, seems to me ol''
Matsu lost about a billion-two on their investment!
Nov. 24, 1995: Westinghouse Electric buys CBS for $5.4 billion.
Feb. 9, 1996: Walt Disney buys Capital Cities/ABC for $19
billion, creating a media conglomerate in movies, television and
publishing.
Oct. 11, 1996: Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting System
complete $7.6 billion merger.
Dec. 31, 1996: Westinghouse Electric''s CBS unit buys Infinity
Broadcasting for $4.7 billion, combining the nation''s two biggest
radio station operators. Mel Karmazin, Infinity Chairman, starts
to rock CBS. Michael Jordan decides to give basketball about
one more year before he hangs it up.
Dec. 1, 1997: Westinghouse changes name to CBS shortly after
deciding to sell its traditional businesses such as power-
generation equipment and light bulbs.
Dec. 9, 1998: CBS raises $2.9 billion by selling a 17 percent
stake in Infinity Broadcasting, its radio and outdoor advertising
business. The initial public offering of stock is the largest ever in
the media industry.
Dec. 10, 1998: Seagram buys the Polygram music label for $10.4
billion.
April 1, 1999: CBS announces agreement to buy King World
Productions, the leading syndicator of television programs, for
$2.5 billion. Oprah makes mucho bucks, loses weight.
Sept. 7, 1999: Viacom Viacom announces deal to buy CBS for
$37 billion (or thereabouts), in what would be the biggest media
marriage ever.
*I do not own either stock nor am I recommending purchase of
either issue, now, or the new Viacom once the merger goes
through.
Brian Trumbore
|
|
|
