Word: disneyized
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Immediate howls of protest arose from Disney investors, who were not getting Steinberg's sweetheart deal. In fact, after the agreement was announced, Disney stock slumped sharply and finished the week at $49.50, a drop of nearly $16 in five trading days. Institutional investors roundly condemned the Disney accord, although small investors holding Disney shares mainly suffered in silence. New York City's Alliance Capital Manage ment lost $1.5 million on its 100,000 shares of Disney. Said Chairman Dave Williams: "We feel like we've had the rug pulled out from under us." Three Disney shareholders...
These moves threatened to decrease Steinberg's share of Disney to less than 10%, and he appeared to be losing. But two weeks ago, Steinberg formed a holding company, MM Acquisition (named for Disney's own Mickey Mouse). For his partners Steinberg enlisted Kirk Kerkorian, 67, the majority stockholder in MGM/UA Entertainment, and Fisher Financial and Development, a New York City real estate firm. Kerkorian agreed to invest $75 million for a 20% stake in the new firm in return for a 60-day option to buy the Disney studio and film library for $448 million. Fisher...
During a series of weekend meetings in New York City, however, a green-mail deal was struck: Disney agreed to repurchase Steinberg's 4,198,333 shares for $70.83 a share, or $297.4 million, a profit of $32 million for Steinberg. In addition, Disney paid him $28 million for expenses involved in his takeover attempt. Steinberg, in turn, agreed not to acquire any Disney shares for ten years...
While Miller and other Disney executives have survived for now, their company emerges from its battle with Steinberg in a much weakened position. Arvida and Gibson are not natural business partners for Disney, yet they have more than doubled Disney's debt load, to $850 million...
...tactics used by Disney and other greenmail targets came under very strong criticism last week. Said Jay Marshall of Merrill Lynch: "Clearly, in many cases, the executives are just messing up the company. Management's feeling is: cripple us, poke out our eyes and maybe they won't like us any more." That kind of scorched-earth policy may save the jobs of top management, but it does not help investors, who see the greenmailer make a huge profit while their shares decline in value. Said T Boone Pickens, a frequent opponent of entrenched corporate offi cials...