On Harbinger and The New York Times…
For the past week, there’s been all sorts of chatter that billionaire David Geffen is interested in buying The New York Times Co. (NYT). In this morning’s paper, Times media columnist David Carr examines various scenarios. Most of the chatter focuses on Geffen’s interest in the nearly 20% stake that Harbinger Capital Partners owns, though on Friday, the New York Post threw cold water on the scope of those discussions.
Consider that the back-drop for the 13F that Harbinger filed late Friday. The Times stake remained unchanged at 28,538,434 shares as of March 31 — the same as it was at the end of December, though the value of that stake fell dramatically during those three months. At the end of December, that stake was worth $209 million. By the end of March, it was worth $128.9 million. Of course, the problem with 13Fs is that they’re a very static snap-shot and lots of things can change between the end of the filing period and the filing deadline of 45 days after the end of the quarter. NYT stock is up about 31%, meaning that as of Friday, Harbinger’s stake is now worth around $170 million. And, needless to say, rumors of wealthy white knights coming to the rescue certainly don’t hurt — the day after the Geffen news broke, the stock closed at $6.99, its’ highest level since early January.
Of course, as Times media columnist David Carr points out in his column in today’s Times, “the 20 percent stake of the hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners is tantalizing to speculate about but not really material”. While it does include two board seats as part of a settlement reached last year, it doesn’t even come close to controlling the company. Still, there’s nothing like a good rumor to get other journalists talking — and writing — about the possibility of a deal.
Image source: New York Times
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Posted in Tags: 13F, media, rumors |
 1 Comment » |
May 18th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Interesting bit. I saw 2 comments on papers today. WSJ
into India print delivery and one on how papers might gain some leverage from their specialty.
From CBSMW stories:
The Wall Street Journal Asia Commences Printing in India
10:03a ET May 18, 2009 (GlobeNewswire)
The Wall Street Journal Asia, the region’s leading international business newspaper, today commenced printing in India. The Wall Street Journal Asia will be printed Mondays through Fridays by The Express Group at print sites in New Delhi and Mumbai. The paper will be delivered the same day to individual and corporate subscribers and will be available at newsstands in major Indian cities.
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Twohig said that newspapers should demonstrate that their ads work at or above industry norms.
“In broadband video, the TV networks won by doubling down and getting research to prove that ads running with their video actually delivered better [results] than traditional broadcast,” he said. “If you had something like that, that would be a game changer.”
Bennett says newspapers are working hard to roll out behavioral targeting and other ways of “fine-tuning” the audience they deliver to advertisers.
“As that data start to shake out, advertisers will find out that, as with the printed product, which has proven very effective in driving people to stores, the online sites will have the same impact. But it’s still in a very embryonic stage,” Bennett said.
Newspapers must also work harder to provide content that people can’t just get at one of the aggregators, the buyers said.
“If everyone’s going to get news items from AP as soon as they’re out, on their Blackberries, and so on, then what’s the net gain that newspapers can provide?,” asked Twohig. “You do have the commentary, you do have the beat reporters that really understand the marketplace and provide a thoughtful point of view. You have to add value.”