Kroger’s bid to take over grocery chain Albertsons could have a better chance of getting approved under Trump, as could Tapestry’s proposed acquisition of Capri.

The merger between Kroger and Albertsons is currently under review by a federal judge, while Tapestry is working to appeal a federal order that granted the FTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the tie-up.

“The hostile approach of the FTC to mergers and acquisitions will almost certainly be reset and replaced with a worldview that is more favorable to corporate dealmaking,” said GlobalData managing director Neil Saunders. “This does not necessarily mean that big deals like Kroger-Albertsons will be waved through, but it does mean others like Tapestry-Capri will receive a far warmer reception than they have under the Biden administration.”

Meanwhile, ongoing turmoil in the media industry has led many to consider consolidation as the next step for the sector.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav on Thursday highlighted opportunities that could come up if regulations were to loosen, doubling down on comments he made earlier this year at Allen & Co.’s annual Sun Valley conference.

“We have an upcoming new administration. … It’s too early to tell, but it may offer a pace of change and opportunity for consolidation that may be quite different, that would provide a real positive and accelerated impact on this industry that’s needed,” Zaslav said on an earnings call.

Broadcast station group owner Sinclair on Wednesday echoed a similar sentiment.

“We’re very excited about the upcoming regulatory environment,” CEO Chris Ripley said during an earnings call. “It does feel like a cloud over the industry is lifting here.”

Still, the track record between the previous Trump administration and the Biden administration for media industry deals is split.

Trump’s DOJ allowed Disney to buy Fox’s assets, but then sued to block AT&T’s deal for Time Warner.

Under the Biden administration, Amazon’s $8.5 billion deal for MGM and the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery Communications were both waved through, but a federal judge blocked the $2.2 billion sale of Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House.

Skydance Media and Paramount Global agreed to merge earlier this year and expect to receive regulatory approval in 2025.

]]> https://thenewshub.in/2024/11/07/wall-street-expects-trump-presidency-will-unlock-deal-making/feed/ 0 https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/31/comcasts-potential-cable-networks-separation-will-test-the-appetite-for-media-reconfiguration/ https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/31/comcasts-potential-cable-networks-separation-will-test-the-appetite-for-media-reconfiguration/?noamp=mobile#respond Thu, 31 Oct 2024 21:27:32 +0000 https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/31/comcasts-potential-cable-networks-separation-will-test-the-appetite-for-media-reconfiguration/

Mike Cavanagh, president of Comcast Corporation, at center, during the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, July 12, 2023.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Comcast is thinking about separating or spinning off NBCUniversal’s cable networks. If it moves forward with the idea, it could lay the groundwork for a reconfiguration of the entire American media landscape.

The logic for Comcast is fairly straightforward. NBCUniversal’s cable networks aren’t growing anymore. The company’s energy and focus is on promoting Peacock, NBCUniversal’s growing but still money-losing streaming service. Carving out the cable portfolio could placate Comcast investors by removing declining assets from the balance sheet.

Comcast shares gained more than 3% on Thursday after the company’s third-quarter earnings release and conference call.

“We are now exploring whether creating a new well-capitalized company, owned by our shareholders and comprised of our strong portfolio of cable networks, would position them to take advantage of opportunities in the changing media landscape and create value for our shareholders,” Comcast President Mike Cavanagh said during the call. “We are not ready to talk about any specifics yet, but we’ll be back to you as and when we reach firm conclusions.”

Though executives stressed that the exploration is in the very early stages, it could be a prelude to broader industry consolidation. NBCUniversal’s cable networks, which include Bravo, E!, Syfy, Oxygen True Crime and USA Network, as well as news networks MSNBC and CNBC, could be merged with another media company or could be a catalyst for a rollup, or consolidation, of cable channels at a number of different companies.

The idea of a rollup isn’t new. It’s something media mogul John Malone discussed way back in 2016 when Lionsgate acquired premium network Starz.

“Lionsgate could buy Starz and potentially other free radicals in the industry,” Malone said at the time, referring to cable network groups not owned by larger media conglomerates such as AMC Networks, which is controlled by the Dolan family, or A&E Networks, which is co-owned by Hearst and Disney.

That vision never materialized, in part because the media world’s attention shifted from traditional pay TV to streaming, which devalued cable networks. Earlier this year, Warner Bros. Discovery reported a noncash goodwill impairment charge of $9.1 billion, triggered by the reevaluation of the book value of its TV networks segment.

Still, the loss of value for cable networks has now led to a new opportunity for a rollup, if companies such as Comcast, Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney decide they want to shed declining cable assets in favor of focusing on streaming.

Thus far, media companies have opted to keep their cable networks, which still pump out billions in profit even as millions of Americans cut the cord each year.

Comcast may set a template if it moves forward with a spin and sees a spike in its overall valuation.

Ironically, Starz could again play a role in a media shakeup. The small media company wants to be the vehicle for a cable network rollup, CNBC reported in 2022. Starz is set to separate from Lionsgate at the end of 2024.

There’s broad uncertainty about whether a company that consists of only cable networks has a viable path forward as a publicly traded entity. Equity investors typically aren’t fans of declining assets, even if they’re cash rich.

But even if Starz doesn’t achieve its vision of a cable network rollup, it’s possible a private equity firm may have interest in harvesting a group of cable networks for cash. Apollo Global Management, for one, had late interest in acquiring Paramount Global and has made several media-related investments in recent years, including buying Yahoo.

Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.

]]> https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/31/comcasts-potential-cable-networks-separation-will-test-the-appetite-for-media-reconfiguration/feed/ 0 https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/30/fired-disney-employee-allegedly-hacked-menu-system-to-falsely-claim-certain-foods-did-not-contain-peanuts-complaint-says/ https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/30/fired-disney-employee-allegedly-hacked-menu-system-to-falsely-claim-certain-foods-did-not-contain-peanuts-complaint-says/?noamp=mobile#respond Wed, 30 Oct 2024 19:08:14 +0000 https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/30/fired-disney-employee-allegedly-hacked-menu-system-to-falsely-claim-certain-foods-did-not-contain-peanuts-complaint-says/

The “Partners” statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, at Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom, at Walt Disney World, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, photographed Saturday, June 3, 2023.

Joe Burbank | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

A disgruntled former Disney employee is being accused of hacking into menu-creating software used by the company’s restaurants to falsely indicate that certain food items did not contain peanuts.

In a federal criminal complaint filed in the U.S District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Michael Scheuer, who had been recently terminated, is accused of knowingly causing the transmission of a program to a protected computer and intentionally causing damage without authorization.

Scheuer worked at Walt Disney World as a menu production manager. While employed at the company, Scheuer was responsible for the creation and publishing of menus for the company’s entire restaurant portfolio.

Scheuer was fired in June for alleged misconduct, the complaint says, adding that the termination was contentious and not amicable.

The criminal complaint was first reported by Court Watch.

The complaint alleges that after his firing, he continued to access the software from a personal device and over a three-month period allegedly changed menu prices and added profanity.

The complaint said these changes “were more benign” but Scheuer “also made several menu changes that threatened public health and safety” like changing the allergen information on menus. The menus were identified before they made it to the restaurants, the suit says.

“Namely, the threat actor manipulated the allergen information on menus by adding information to some allergen notifications that indicated certain menu items were safe for individuals with peanut allergies, when in fact they could be deadly to those with peanut allergies,” the complaint says.

On Sept. 23, federal agents searched Scheuer’s home and seized four personal computers, according to the criminal complaint. Scheuer denied any wrongdoing and accused Disney of trying to frame him “because they were worried about him and the conditions under which he was terminated,” the complaint states.

He allegedly did admit to using his personal Google Chrome profile to conduct work when he was employed, according to the complaint. He was unable to say whether he accessed Disney’s systems after he was terminated because he believed he may have used it for things including paystubs and financial information.

Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

David Haas, an attorney for Scheuer said: “The allegations acknowledge that no one was injured or harmed. I look forward to vigorously presenting my client’s side of the story.” He added that Scheuer “has a disability that he believes impacted his termination from Disney.”

“Disney failed to respond to his inquiries about being fired and he then filed an EEOC complaint in response,” Haas said.

]]> https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/30/fired-disney-employee-allegedly-hacked-menu-system-to-falsely-claim-certain-foods-did-not-contain-peanuts-complaint-says/feed/ 0 https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/26/jeff-bezos-killed-washington-post-endorsement-of-kamala-harris-paper-reports/ https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/26/jeff-bezos-killed-washington-post-endorsement-of-kamala-harris-paper-reports/?noamp=mobile#respond Sat, 26 Oct 2024 01:52:44 +0000 https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/26/jeff-bezos-killed-washington-post-endorsement-of-kamala-harris-paper-reports/

The Washington Post Building at One Franklin Square Building in Washington, D.C., June 5, 2024.

Andrew Harnik | Getty Images

The Washington Post said Friday that it will not endorse a candidate in the presidential election this year — or ever again — breaking decades of tradition and sparking immediate criticism of the decision.

But the newspaper also published an article by two staff reporters revealing that editorial page staffers had drafted an endorsement of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris over GOP nominee Donald Trump in the election.

“The decision not to publish was made by The Post’s owner — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos,” the article said, citing two sources briefed on the events.

Trump, while president, had been critical of the billionaire Bezos and the Post, which he purchased in 2013.

The newspaper in 2016 and again in 2020 endorsed Trump’s election opponents, Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden, in editorials that condemned the Republican in blunt terms.

In a 2019 lawsuit, Amazon claimed it had lost a $10 billion cloud computing contract with the Pentagon to Microsoft because Trump had used “improper pressure … to harm his perceived political enemy” Bezos.

The Post since 1976 had regularly endorsed candidates for president, except for the 1988 race. All those endorsements had been for Democrats.

In a statement to CNBC, when asked about Bezos’ purported role in killing the endorsement, Post chief communications officer Kathy Baird said, “This was a Washington Post decision to not endorse, and I would refer you to the publisher’s statement in full.”

The Post on Friday evening published a third article, signed by opinion columnists for the newspaper, who said, “The Washington Post’s decision not to make an endorsement in the presidential campaign is a terrible mistake.”

“It represents an abandonment of the fundamental editorial convictions of the newspaper that we love, and for which we have worked a combined 218 years,” the column said. “This is a moment for the institution to be making clear its commitment to democratic values, the rule of law and international alliances, and the threat that Donald Trump poses to them — the precise points The Post made in endorsing Trump’s opponents in 2016 and 2020.”

CNBC has requested comment from Amazon, where Bezos remains the largest shareholder.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos arrives for his meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the UK diplomatic residence in New York City, Sept. 20, 2021.

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Post publisher and chief executive Will Lewis, in an article published online explaining the decision, wrote, “The Washington Post will not be making an endorsement of a presidential candidate in this election. Nor in any future presidential election.”

“We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates,” Lewis wrote.

“We recognize that this will be read in a range of ways, including as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, or as a condemnation of another, or as an abdication of responsibility,” he wrote.

“That is inevitable. We don’t see it that way. We see it as consistent with the values The Post has always stood for and what we hope for in a leader: character and courage in service to the American ethic, veneration for the rule of law, and respect for human freedom in all its aspects.”

Seven of the 13 paragraphs of Lewis’ article either quoted at length or referred to Post Editorial Board statements in 1960 and 1972 explaining the paper’s rationale for not endorsing presidential candidates in those years, which included its identity as “an independent newspaper.”

Lewis noted that the paper had endorsed Jimmy Carter in 1976 “for understandable reasons at the times” — which he did not identify.

“But we had it right before that, and this is what we are going back to,” Lewis wrote.

“Our job as the newspaper of the capital city of the most important country in the world is to be independent,” he wrote. “And that is what we are and will be.”

Post editor-at-large Robert Kagan, a member of the paper’s opinions section, resigned following the decision, multiple news outlets reported.

More than 10,000 reader comments were posted on Lewis’ article, many of them blasting the Post for its decision and saying they were canceling their subscriptions.

“The most consequential election in our country, a choice between Fascism and Democracy, and you sit out? Cowards. Unethical, fearful cowards,” wrote one comment. “Oh, and by the way, I’m canceling my subscription, because you are putting business ahead of ethics and morals.”

The announcement came days after Mariel Garza, the head of The Los Angeles Times‘ editorial board, resigned in protest after that paper’s owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, decided against running a presidential endorsement.

“I am resigning because I want to make it clear that I am not okay with us being silent,” Garza told the Columbia Journalism Review. “In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up. This is how I’m standing up.”

Soon-Shiong, like Bezos, is a billionaire.

Marty Baron, the former editor of The Washington Post, called that paper’s decision “cowardice, with democracy as its casualty.”

″@realdonaldtrump will see this as an invitation to further intimidate owner @jeffbezos (and others),” Baron wrote. “Disturbing spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.”

The Washington Post Guild, the union that represents the newspaper’s staff, in a statement posted on the social media site X said it was “deeply concerned that The Washington Post — an American news institution in the nation’s capital — would make a decision to no longer endorse presidential candidates, especially a mere 11 days ahead of an immensely consequential election.”

“The message from our chief executive, Will Lewis — not from the Editorial Board itself — makes us concerned that management interfered with the work of our members in Editorial,” the Guild said in the statement, which noted the paper’s reporting about Bezos’ role in the decision.

“We are already seeing cancellations from once loyal readers,” the Guild said. “This decision undercuts the work of our members at a time when we should be building our readers’ trust, not losing it.”

Read more CNBC politics coverage

Former Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, whose stories about the Watergate break-in during the Nixon administration won the newspaper a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, in a statement said, “We respect the traditional independence of the editorial page, but this decision 11 days out from the 2024 presidential election ignores the Washington Post’s own overwhelming reportorial evidence on the threat Donald Trump poses to democracy.”

“Under Jeff Bezos’s ownership, the Washington Post’s news operation has used its abundant resources to rigorously investigate the danger and damage a second Trump presidency could cause to the future of American democracy and that makes this decision even more surprising and disappointing, especially this late in the electoral process,” Woodward and Bernstein said.

Post columnist Karen Attiah, in a post on the social media site Threads, wrote, “Today has been an absolute stab in the back.”

“What an insult to those of us who have literally put our careers and lives on the line to call out threats to human rights and democracy,” Attiah wrote.

Rep. Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California, in his own tweet on the news wrote, “The first step towards fascism is when the free press cowers in fear.”

Trump in August told Fox Business News that Bezos called him after the Republican narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in July at a campaign rally in western Pennsylvania.

“He was very nice even though he owns The Washington Post,” Trump said of Bezos.

Bezos last posted on X on July 13, hours after the assassination attempt.

“Our former President showed tremendous grace and courage under literal fire tonight,” Bezos wrote in that tweet. “So thankful for his safety and so sad for the victims and their families.”

Trump on Friday met in Austin, Texas, with executives from the Bezos-owned space exploration company Blue Origin, among them CEO David Limp, the Associated Press reported

]]> https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/26/jeff-bezos-killed-washington-post-endorsement-of-kamala-harris-paper-reports/feed/ 0 https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/23/network18s-moneycontrol-pro-crosses-1-million-paying-subscribers-indias-largest-news-subscription-platform-now-among-top-15-globally/ https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/23/network18s-moneycontrol-pro-crosses-1-million-paying-subscribers-indias-largest-news-subscription-platform-now-among-top-15-globally/?noamp=mobile#respond Wed, 23 Oct 2024 07:22:37 +0000 https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/23/network18s-moneycontrol-pro-crosses-1-million-paying-subscribers-indias-largest-news-subscription-platform-now-among-top-15-globally/

Last Updated: October 23, 2024, 00:03 IST

Moneycontrol Pro has consistently expanded its array of cutting-edge features to help users invest in Indian markets. Image/News18

This milestone highlights Moneycontrol Pro’s reputation and track record as a trusted source of market intelligence for investors seeking in-depth, actionable insights to navigate India’s equity markets

Moneycontrol Pro, a premium offering from Network18’s market leader news and data platform Moneycontrol, has crossed the landmark of one million paying subscribers, cementing its position as India’s largest media subscription product and among the top 15 worldwide. Moneycontrol Pro’s paying subscriber numbers are now close to major international media platforms such as Financial Times and Barron’s.

This milestone highlights Moneycontrol Pro’s reputation and track record as a trusted source of market intelligence for investors seeking in-depth, actionable insights to navigate India’s equity markets.

Moneycontrol Pro has consistently expanded its array of cutting-edge features to help users invest in Indian markets. The platform helps users make informed investment decisions through cutting-edge fundamental research and features such as ‘Expert Edge’ with daily and weekly investment ideas, ‘Trade Like a Pro’ with technical ratings and trends, ‘Spot Winners’ with over 200 powerful stock scanners, ‘Deep Dive’ with quant-based insights and ‘Track Holdings’ of market gurus with big shark portfolios.

“The fact that more than a million people chose to repose their trust in Moneycontrol Pro is a testament to the value it brings to investors, helping them better understand markets and profit from it. We will continue to add more features to the product in our quest to make available to Pro users features normally available only in much pricier products used by institutional investors,” said Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman of Network18.

Moneycontrol Pro is powered by an expert team of research analysts who actively cover more than 270 major Indian companies across 25 sectors and provide sharp insights for informed decision-making on Indian stocks. Along with macro-economic, sectoral and company-level insights, the service provides customised portfolios for investors, which have consistently outperformed India’s benchmark indices.

“Moneycontrol Pro has become an indispensable companion for understanding Indian markets and has reduced the arbitrage on information for retail users looking to invest smartly,” added Zainulbhai, noting that Moneycontrol Pro’s subscriber base places it in the elite company of the world’s top digital media subscription brands such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Financial Times.

Moneycontrol Pro’s paywalled content sits on Moneycontrol, India’s largest business, markets and finance platform which has more than 90 million unique visitors a month (as per September 2024 Google Analytics data) and over 7 million active app users. Expanding its footprint in the fintech space, Moneycontrol offers a diverse suite of finance products. In addition to expert analysis on equities, Moneycontrol users can secure personal loans, start fixed deposits, track their mutual funds and stocks portfolio, manage all their bank accounts and check credit scores on the platform. These new services, offered since 2023, solidify Moneycontrol’s position as a supermarket for all financial needs in India.

Moneycontrol is a part of Network18, a National Stock Exchange (NSE)-listed media powerhouse from India whose panoply of brands have a monthly reach of over 350 million viewers on TV and about 250 million unique visitors on its digital platforms. Network18 is owned by Reliance Industries Limited, whose group entities control nearly 57 per cent of its shares.

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The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live upd…Read More

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