Latest in Mergers and Acquisitions

For the first time in many quarters, CBS and Viacom are both scheduled to report their financial results on the same day, August 8. Insiders at the companies have pointed out that the reporting was not co-ordinated with any larger goal in mind, and the releases don’t overlap. Viacom will be out before the start of…

A cross-section of front-rank executives from the media and tech sectors has gathered in Sun Valley, ID, for Allen & Co.’s annual conference. This year’s edition of the event, held each July since 1983, gets underway on Tuesday. It is unfolding in the wake of several pivotal mergers and with questions swirling about…

Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of Fox in March definitely has reached the stage stage: With Disney Theatrical Productions’ takeover of Fox Stage Productions, including the upcoming projects Mrs. Doubtfire and The Devil Wears Prada, Isaac Robert Hurwitz, SVP for Fox Stage Productions, will leave the company today…

Lego, the Denmark-based toy giant, is joining forces with Blackstone Group and a Canadian pension fund to acquire UK theme park operator Merlin Entertainment for $6 billion. The offer price from the Lego group is 60 cents a share for Merlin, which imputes a $6 billion valuation. Lego is a privately held company still…

In the year since the Federal Communications Commission effectively torpedoed Sinclair Broadcast Group’s planned $3.9 billion merger with Tribune Media, the possibility has existed that an investigation could result. This week, the FCC confirmed it is formally looking into whether Sinclair had intentionally misled…

Disruption in the entertainment business can sometimes come in unlikely forms. Witness Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, whose earnest name and humble corporate headquarters in Cos Cob, CT, belie its aggressive acquisition drive and canny knack for outmaneuvering larger rivals. The company’s Brooklyn-born CEO, B…

Frank Bennack, the executive vice chairman and former CEO of Hearst Corp., is channeling his decades of experience into a memoir to be published this fall by Simon & Schuster. The CBS-owned publishing house has acquired world rights and audio rights to Leave Something on the Table: And Other Surprising Lessons for Succ…

The third set of merger talks between CBS and Viacom is expected to ramp up as June winds on, and CBS board members are said to have met Friday to begin exploring some of the issues involved in reuniting the companies. The two companies certainly are familiar with each other, having been under the same corporate roof…

Continuing its drive to pay down debt, AT&T announced that WarnerMedia has completed the sale-leaseback of its sparkling New York City headquarters at 30 Hudson Yards to a consortium for about $2.2 billion. The initial agreement to sell off the assets was revealed last April. WarnerMedia's lease at 30 Hudson Yards…

Shares in Sprint and T-Mobile ticked up late in Friday’s trading day after The New York Times reported that Department of Justice regulators are close to blessing the companies’ $26 billion merger. T-Mobile closed at $74.90, up less than 1%, while Sprint jumped 3% to close at $7.01. The stocks have see-sawed in recent…

The attorneys general of seven states and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit seeking to block the merger of Sprint and T-Mobile, alleging that the $26.5 billion deal would harm consumers. New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced the suit Tuesday…

Rumblings are getting louder about a potential merger of leading satellite TV distributors DirecTV and Dish, with stocks in both services’ parent companies gaining ground in Friday trading. Dish shares rose 2.5% to $37.10, their highest level in a year and a half. AT&T shares closed the week at $32.49, up more than 1%…