From the all-things-Hollywood IndiWire, August 10:
If one Disney is good, could two Disneys be better?That’s media analyst Michael Nathanson (of MoffettNathanson’s) basic theory, one that on Wednesday Disney CEO Bob Iger said he was “looking forward to reading” about in more detail. It’s possible he was just being polite.
On the Disney fiscal Q3-earnings conference call, Nathanson asked Iger: Why not spin off Disney’s parks, Disney+, and its studio IP into a new company, leaving linear TV, ESPN+, Hulu (including Hulu + Live TV), and Disney+ Hotstar right where they are? His premise: Why should investors take the bad with the good if they don’t have to?
“I’m not gonna comment on the future structure of the company or the asset makeup of the company. As I’ve said, we’re looking at strategic options both for ESPN and for the linear networks, obviously addressing all the challenges that those businesses are facing,” Iger responded. “I’m looking forward to reading your thesis on it. Maybe you’ll give us some ideas about it, but I’m not going to make any comments about it right now.”
Well Bob, Nathanson emailed us (and his clients) that thesis at 6:30 a.m. ET. We (he) can give you some ideas.
“We think there is a clear case to be made that under any scenario Disney’s assets are worth materially more than its current enterprise value,” Nathanson wrote. The current enterprise value is about $213 billion — and three-quarters of that is the parks, experiences, and consumer products....
....MUCH MORE
Something is very wrong with Disney. Here's the two year chart via BigCharts:
If this keeps up, that Disney heiress, Abigail Edna Disney, might have to drop "philanthropist" from her job description and maybe, well, get a job other than movie producer.
