Word: warners
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...first immediate product of the merger was the spectacle of the irrepressible Turner at play on a larger, more conservative stage. Standing in the glare of TV lights, he conceded that the price of Time Warner stock had been languishing. "Just because you're flat for a while doesn't mean that you can't take off," he retorted. "I mean, look at the shuttle program. Every now and then one blows up. But they keep on going, Bubba. We might have a bad year or two. But overall it's going to be up and away, like Superman...
...obstacles will require some bounding over. Levin has incurred the legal wrath of financial partner U S West. The Colorado-based Baby Bell, which owns a 25.5% stake in Time Warner's film and cable holdings, filed a lawsuit in Delaware chancery court last week to block the merger. The phone company, which paid $2.5 billion for its partnership interest in 1993, has for months been in stalled talks with Time Warner, which wants to restructure the terms in order to split the cable from the content companies. U S West claims it has veto power over the merger with...
Other potential opponents include Washington regulators. Consumers Union said it would ask federal regulators to review the deal because it could raise cable prices and restrict programming. Officials at the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission are likely to scrutinize Malone's stake in Time Warner; as president of Tele-Communications Inc., he already controls the No. 1 operator of cable TV systems in the country; Time Warner's cable unit ranks...
...then there are the internal power struggles. A concerned director says the internecine bickering at Time Warner is already turning the company into "a case of trophies without a team on the field." The executive most dislocated by the emerging new power structure is Michael Fuchs, the head of HBO and Warner Music, who is credited with helping defuse the furor over gangsta-rap lyrics that besieged the company earlier this year. Last week Levin indicated that Turner, who will become Time Warner's vice chairman, will also assume responsibility for overseeing...
...make the merger work, Levin says he has adopted a new management philosophy that he hopes will bring greater cooperation among the princes of his realm. Says he: "With Time and Warner, I thought we'd get more mileage out of running businesses separately. But with the Turner transaction, things have changed dramatically. We'll make things happen together. Ted didn't win the America's Cup without being a team player." Turner, whose personal fortune is estimated at $1.7 billion, will be handsomely rewarded by his new employer. In addition to receiving options for 1 million shares of Time...