Deal Structure

Reducing Our Offer For The New York Times (NYT) — As you recall, back in July, we happily made an offer for the digital operations of the New York Times Company (NYT). We offered a massive price--$1 billion--and proposed an innovative deal structure that would avoid the need for annoying shareholder approvals, jillion-dollar legal fees, egregious tax hits, etc. (In short, the NYT would acquire us, and then spin us and NYT Digital out--see details below). We explained how we would run the standalone NYT Digital and how the proposed transaction would benefit New York Times shareholders, who have since been obliterated. Well, we are pleased to say that, despite... [Tags: boston globe, businessweek, carnage, cnet, deal structure]

Cubs Sale Hurt By Economy: Cuban — The economic tumult shaking the country will affect the sale of the Chicago Cubs, prospective buyer Mark Cuban said: "Yeah, it's going to affect the deal structure. [...] Because of the way the deal was originally meant to be structured, it's going to create a challenge. So it'll certainly have an impact. Anytime the cost of capital goes up, the cost of assets goes down. Which is what you're seeing in the stock market." "When Cuban says "deal structure," what he's really saying is price," Rick Morrissey writes in the Tribune. "Before the recent economic trouble, the price of the... [Tags: 1 billion, assets, broadcast properties, chicago cubs, clue]

AOL-Yahoo Merger Details Emerge; Deal Could Happen This Month — Yahoo is continuing its marathon merger discussions with AOL, sources close to the negotiations have whispered to us, and a deal could happen as early as this month. Is this just a rehash of the reported discussions in February and then again in April? Yes and no. It’s clear that AOL’s parent company, Time Warner, wants this deal more than ever. What isn’t clear is whether AOL’s assets will fix any of Yahoo’s problems. The deal structure that is currently being discussed is Yahoo’s acquisition of AOL (content, services and advertising), minus their subscription dial up business. That plus a... [Tags: advertising war, aol, billion dollars, chess piece, company time]