a-bid-for

Malone’s Liberty Media Is Said to Drop Out of Metro-Goldwyn Studio Bidding

by on March 17, 2010

By Ronald Grover March 17 (Bloomberg) — John Malone ’s Liberty Media Corp. has decided against making a bid for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. movie studio, according to two people with knowledge of the media company’s plans. Liberty’s assessment of MGM’s value fell below a price company executives believed would be acceptable to the Los Angeles-based studio’s creditors, the people said. The Englewood, Colorado-based company, owner of the Starz Entertainment pay television service, was among five parties considering second-round bids for MGM. The studio, which stopped making payments on $3.7 billion in debt and put itself up for sale last year, has set a March 19 deadline. Others exploring a second-round bid included billionaire Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries, Time Warner Inc. , Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. and producer Ryan Kavanaugh ’s Relativity Media, in conjunction with private equity firm Elliott Capital, people close to the process said on Feb. 3. Courtnee Ulrich , a spokeswoman for Liberty, didn’t immediately respond to a phone call and e-mail seeking comment. In 2003, Malone withdrew from bidding for Vivendi Universal’s Los Angeles-based operations, including the film studio and theme park. Liberty is evaluating options for its three-year old movie-production unit, Overture Films. Liberty’s Starz tracking stock dropped 41 cents to $51.68 at 2:15 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares gained 13 percent this year before today. To contact the reporter on this story: Ronald Grover in Los Angeles at rgrover5@bloomberg.net

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Malone’s Liberty Media Is Said to Drop Out of Metro-Goldwyn Studio Bidding

Ackman Buys 2% of Kraft, Urges Rosenfeld to Use More Cash in Cadbury Offer

by on January 15, 2010

By Christine Richard and Zachary R. Mider Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) — William Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management LP bought a 2 percent stake in Kraft Foods Inc. and is urging management to pursue a bid for Cadbury Plc that minimizes the stock component of the offer. The stake of at least 32 million shares, valued at about $932 million based on yesterday’s closing price , will be disclosed in a filing with U.K. regulators on Jan. 18, Ackman said in an interview today. Kraft Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld has until Jan. 19 to modify Kraft’s current 10.9 billion-pound ($17.7 billion) stock-and-cash offer for the Uxbridge, England-based confectioner. “We think very highly of Irene Rosenfeld and her business plan. We think this deal makes tremendous strategic sense,” Ackman said, adding that Kraft shares are undervalued. “The more Kraft stock they issue, the less interesting this deal is. Fortunately, the seller also prefers cash.” Ackman is the second high-profile Kraft investor to weigh in on the Northfield, Illinois-based food company’s offer. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Kraft’s biggest shareholder, said on Jan. 5 that Kraft’s stock is undervalued. To contact the reporter on this story: Zachary R. Mider in New York at zmider1@bloomberg.net

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Ackman Buys 2% of Kraft, Urges Rosenfeld to Use More Cash in Cadbury Offer

Ackman Buys 2% Stake in Kraft, Favors Cadbury Bid

January 15, 2010

By Christine Richard and Zachary R. Mider Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) — William Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management LP bought a 2 percent stake in Kraft Foods Inc. and is urging management to pursue a bid for Cadbury Plc that minimizes the stock component of the offer. The stake of at least 32 million shares, valued at about $932 million based on yesterday’s closing price , will be disclosed in a filing with U.K. regulators on Jan. 18, Ackman said in an interview today. Kraft Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld has until Jan. 19 to modify Kraft’s current 10.9 billion-pound ($17.7 billion) stock-and-cash offer for the Uxbridge, England-based confectioner. “We think very highly of Irene Rosenfeld and her business plan. We think this deal makes tremendous strategic sense,” Ackman said, adding that Kraft shares are undervalued. “The more Kraft stock they issue, the less interesting this deal is. Fortunately, the seller also prefers cash.” Ackman is the second high-profile Kraft investor to weigh in on the Northfield, Illinois-based food company’s offer. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Kraft’s biggest shareholder, said on Jan. 5 that Kraft’s stock is undervalued. To contact the reporter on this story: Zachary R. Mider in New York at zmider1@bloomberg.net

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UPDATED: Simon Hires Advisers to Consider General Growth Acquisition Possibilities

November 17, 2009

The country’s largest retail REIT, Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG), is considering a bid for its bankrupt competitor, General Growth Properties. Simon media representative, Les Morris, confirmed for CoStar Group this morning that Simon hired investment…

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Workers call for stoppages, German government wants bridge loan …

November 4, 2009

July 27th, 2009 Opel workers want say in sale , prefer Magna bidFRANKFURT — The workers’ council at Opel and the country’s largest industrial union said Monday they preferred a bid for the German car company from a consortium led by … July 15th, 2009 Opel aid may need renegotiatingBERLIN — The German government made clear Wednesday that its financial support for a takeover of General Motors Corp.’s Opel unit will have to be renegotiated if GM chooses a suitor other than …

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