07-16-2014, 07:44 PM
Quote:21st Century Fox, a film and TV empire controlled by Rupert Murdoch, offered to buy Time Warner last month for about $80 billion, a deal that would combine two of the largest players in the cable network business and possibly unleash a wave of consolidation among content producers.
Time Warner said in a statement Wednesday that 21st Century offered about $84 a share, a combination of 1.531 non-voting common stock shares and $32.42 in cash. But in a video, Time Warner Chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said the board determined that the unsolicited bid "was not in the best interests of Time Warner." 21st Century Fox also confirmed its bid.
If the deal had been struck, the combination would have given birth to the world's largest media company that would control — if regulators approve it, hardly a safe assumption — two huge Hollywood movie studios, local TV stations nationwide, the most watched cable news network in Fox News along with its closest rival CNN, as well as several popular cable channels in HBO, TNT and TBS.
"The Time Warner Board of Directors declined to pursue our proposal," said 21st Century in a statement. We are not currently in any discussions with Time Warner."
But rarely do deals of this magnitude fail after the first offer, and the two companies will likely continue to talk given Murdoch's heavy interest in adding more film and TV assets. Knowing Time Warner has at least one suitor, other network operators could be interested in jumping in to buy all or parts of the media giant. That there is a large overlap of shareholders – a majority of Time Warner shareholders also own shares in 21st Century Fox -- will continue to pressure Bewkes to pursue a deal, analysts say.
source
Read more here: Time Warner rejects Fox takeover bid
I find this very disturbing.
Ownership of major multinational media organizations is already far too concentrated as it is.
Should Rupert Murdoch succeed in his hostile takeover of Time Warner, he and his sons will gain control of Time Magazine, Warner Brothers film studio, and a whole series of TV channels that includes CNN and HBO.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.
- Robert A. Heinlein