Deals wrap: Nasdaq triumphant?
Nasdaq OMX and IntercontinentalExchange unveiled a rival bid to buy NYSE Euronext for about $11.3 billion in cash and stock, a 19 percent premium to the offer made by German competitor Deutsche Boerse. The move could raise new antitrust questions as it would combine the two largest U.S. stock exchanges. The new offer is valued at $42.50 per share, Nasdaq and IntercontinentalExchange said. The offer represents a 19 percent premium to NYSE’s closing price on Thursday and is 27 percent above the company’s valuation before Deutsche Boerse’s $10.2 billion bid in February. Analysts were skeptical about whether Deutsche Boerse would launch a counterbid.
Citigroup might be uncomfortable sitting on information needed to determine whether the onetime successor to Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett violated securities laws when he personally traded in shares of Lubrizol, which Berkshire acquired for $9 billion, but it doesn’t have to be damaging territory for Citi, writes Rob Cox.
No.1 concert promoter and ticketing company Live Nation Entertainment is in the running to buy the recorded music assets of Warner Music Group, the world’s third largest music company, according to a person familiar with the talks. Bids have come in valuing Warner Music Group at around $3 billion on an enterprise value basis, which includes both debt and equity.
Canadian satellite company Telesat Holdings is weighing takeover offers from EchoStar and Carlyle Group, and may decide on a possible sale in the coming days, according to Bloomberg. EchoStar agreed to buy Hughes Communications for $2 billion including debt in February.
Huffington Post columnist and non-executive board chair of the Mobius Life Science Fund Lucy Marcus compiled a list of the 100 Most Influential VCs, Angels and Investors for the new, social decade, writes PE Hub’s Mark Boslet. Union Square Ventures’ Fred Wilson at number 3 and blogger investor Paul Kedrosky at number 4 might not come as a surprise. But Kevin Rose, Digg founder, at the top of the chart and Twitter investor Chris Sacca number 2 are questionable, according to Boslet.
But Siriusly
John Malone probably won’t lose much sleep over his $530 million loan to Sirius XM Radio. His media empire, Liberty Media, has a market cap of $12.4 billion, so Malone’s 40 percent stake in Sirius XM may be something of a punt. And in the satellite broadcasting industry, Malone certainly has a good leg.
Sirius XM has a big debt pile — $3.25 billion, with $171.6 million due today — but it also has a sexy subscriber base of 20 million users, which rivals the top cable operations in the country. Malone and rival Charles Ergan would have been looking at that number as a palliative for the exorbitant talent contracts Sirius boss Mel Karmazin has (Thanks, KB) doled out to Howard Stern, Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart.
Liberty shareholders might have wanted Malone to wait for the bankruptcy to hit and bid for the satellites and other pieces. But Ergan, owner of EchoStar and Dish Network and holder of the Sirius XM debt coming due today, would have the pole position in an asset sale.
The satellite radio model banks heavily on a healthy U.S. auto market. U.S. automakers are in Washington today, where they may find a more sympathetic ear with a Democrat in the White House. Keeping satellite radio afloat is probably not among the points that GM and Chrysler will present in their case for more tax-funded support, but perhaps Malone is betting the bailout will ignite a recovery in satellite radio’s fortunes.
Deals News:
* The board of Italian power company Enel SpA meets today to approve buying Acciona’s 25 percent stake in Spain’s Endesa, a source close to the matter said. Other sources have put the value of the deal at about 11 billion euros. The purchase would lift Enel’s stake in Endesa to 92 percent.
* Vale, Xstrata and Rio Tinto are among the companies that have submitted proposals to develop Mongolia’s prized $2 billion Tavan Tolgoi coal mine, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Thanks for catching that, KB. While the Zensei may have to bend like a reed in the ill wind of recession, and though he may not have been responsible for overpaying for the likes of Howard Stern, I remain hopefully confident that Satellite radio survives. Considering how bleak my commute, house-cleaning and morning coffee would be without it I can be nothing but hopeful.
