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Nikki Finke might have to work with Variety! (see inside)
(Apologies if this has already been posted. The article is a couple days old but I don't remember seeing anything about it here.)
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/variety_race_day_Rz32ze4gmPgaMSNTkAYYrN
Apparently Penske Media Corp., Nikki Finke's corporate boss, is one of two leading contenders to purchase Variety.
"Variety, the legendary but struggling Hollywood magazine, is still not ready for its close-up.
Reed Elsevier, looking to unload the 107-year-old title, its last remaining North American trade magazine, has been forced to cut Variety’s asking price by more than 25 percent and offer “seller financing” to close the deal, The Post has learned.
Reed has recently cut Variety’s asking price to below $30 million from its original $40 million price tag, sources close to the situation said.
The publishing giant hopes the move — plus, sources add, the offer to provide some seller financing — entices one of the two remaining serious suitors, Jay Penske’s Penske Media Corp. or Marc Lasry’s Avenue Capital, to cross the finish line.
Penske and Lasry believed Variety’s initial $40 million-plus asking price was too high. Before the price cut, Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos. walked away, sources said, after making a bid in the $20 million range.
Lasry, with deeper pockets, would seem to be the favorite — but the discounted price and the offer to help finance the deal could put Penske, the youngest son of auto racing legend Roger Penske, in the driver’s seat with a chance to get to the checkered flag first.
The struggling Variety, which has been on the block since March and drawn only tepid interest, may be a good fit for Penske’s PMC.
The 8-year-old media company counts the six-year old Deadline Hollywood, edited by Nikki Finke, MovieLine.com and the Bonnie Fuller-edited HollywoodLife.com among a handful of Tinseltown-focused properties.
Penske’s free site Deadline Hollywood has benefitted from Variety putting its website behind a pay wall. If he were to win the auction, he would also eliminate the threat of a well-heeled buyer like Lasry beefing up rival operations at Variety.
What’s more, a print daily and weekly like Variety could complement Penske’s entertainment offerings.
Just a few weeks ago billionaire investor Lasry appeared to be in the lead for Variety. Avenue Capital is believed to have submitted a bid without a price tag, hoping for the rights of a final bid.
Avenue, which manages more than $20 billion and focuses, in part, on distressed assets, can justify paying more than Penske because it plans to outsource a lot of the back shop operations to its separately owned American Media Inc.
AMI publishes the National Enquirer and Shape, and also runs back shop operations for Playboy.
All parties declined to comment."
Nikki Finke might have to work with Variety! (see inside) Sep 13, 13:47
Same day on the movies board. Sep 13, 14:20
Sorry, scrub my post then please. {nm} Sep 13, 14:25
