Скандал! Би Ти Ви в колапс - американски акционери искат телевизията да се продаде (ДОКУМЕНТ)
2015-12-08 @ 12:26 EET
Скандали
тресат акционерите на Би Ти Ви заради слабите финансови резултати на
медията. Част от собствениците на телевизията настояват тя да бъде
продадена час по-скоро, пише агенция ПИК, публикувайки и официален
документ.
Медията била пред финансов колапс и акционерите настояват да се намери
нов собственик, твърди ексклузивно ПИК, позовавайки се на конкуренти на
Би Ти Ви, предоставили и писмо, което Ерик Семлър от TCS Capital
Management е изпратил на борда на CME в Ню Йорк. TCS Capital Management
държи около 11% от акциите на СМЕ (Central European Media Enterprises),
която е част от развлекателния гигант "Тайм Уорнър".
Акционерът Семлър обвинява "Уорнър" за лошите показатели на CME и смята,
че компанията спешно трябва да наеме финансов съветник, който да
подготви продажбата й. Публикации по темата за предстоящата
продажба вече се появиха в няколко финансови издания на Запад - като
"Инсайдър" и "Телетрейдър". В България обаче по темата се мълчи.
СМЕ купи Би Ти Ви през 2010 г. за 400 милиона долара. Ставаше дума за
92% от дяловете. Миноритарен физически акционер в телевизията все още е
бизнесменът Красимир Гергов, който на практика създаде медията и бе
основен двигател за пазарния й успех в миналото. От две години обаче
Гергов няма участие в оперативното ръководство и това допринася за
упадъка на Би Ти Ви, която рейтингово вече отстъпва първото място на
конкурентната Нова тв. Спадат и рекламните приходи.
Телевизията свива дейността си и разходите за производство. Продадена
бе и новата сграда, в която екипите и техниката трябваше да се
преместят. По неофициална информация босовете на Би Ти Ви вече
водят първоначални преговори за сделка, като оферираната цена се движи
между 150 и 250 милиона долара.
http://www.blitz.bg
А ето и писмото на акционера в СМЕ Ерик Семлър.
LETTER TO THE CHAIRMAN AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Exhibit 99.1
TCS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
888 Seventh Avenue
Suite 1504
New York, NY 10106
November 18, 2015
Central European Media Enterprises Ltd.
O'Hara House, 3 Bermudiana Road
Hamilton, Bermuda HM 08
Attn: John Billock, Chairman of the Board
cc: Board of Directors
Dear John,
TCS
Capital Management, LLC (together with its affiliates, “TCS Capital”)
currently owns approximately 11% of the outstanding shares of common
stock of Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (“CETV” or the
“Company”), making us the largest minority shareholder of the Company.
By way of brief background, we initially invested in CETV in 2004 and
have accumulated our current equity position in the Company over the
last two years.
We
are writing this letter today to urge CETV’s Board of Directors (the
“Board”) to hire a financial advisor to explore a sale of the Company.
Although we have been very pleased with CETV's operational progress
under the current management team, we are concerned with the poor
performance of the Company’s stock price, which has plummeted 60% since
Time Warner Inc. (“TWX” or “Time Warner”) took effective control of the
Company more than two years ago. We believe the stock’s weakness is
directly tied to Time Warner’s collective 75% equity and debt ownership
of the Company coupled with CETV’s lack of progress in refinancing its
expensive debt held by TWX. We are concerned about Time Warner’s
dominant position as both the largest debt and equity holder of the
Company. CETV is paying unduly high interest rates to Time Warner -- as
high as 15% on nearly half of its debt. This is inconceivable today
given the low bond yields in Europe and the fact that we expect CETV to
be leveraged under 7x EBITDA by the end of 2015.
The
Board has a duty to maximize the value of CETV for the benefit of all
equity owners, including minority shareholders. By allowing TWX to
continue to extract exorbitant interest payments from the Company, the
Board is destroying shareholder value. The Board, consistent with its
fiduciary duties, must act independently of TWX and pursue alternative
paths to optimize equity value for the benefit of all CETV
shareholders. Although we have been extremely patient shareholders of
the Company, we can no longer sit idly and wait for CETV to pursue a
refinancing at much lower rates. Such a refinancing, which is long
overdue, would be a step in the right direction. However, it does not
resolve the issues tied to Time Warner’s dominant ownership of the
Company.
We
believe that CETV shares are undervalued by the stock market due to
Time Warner’s effective control of the Company. We believe the most
effective strategy for addressing this issue is for the Board to pursue a
sale of the Company. We firmly believe that CETV is a highly
undervalued and unique asset that is coveted by other global media
companies. In fact, CETV shares trade at approximately 9x 2016
estimated EBITDA, which is a significant discount to the trading
multiples of other European television broadcasters. In addition,
Scripps Networks recently acquired TVN, the leading broadcaster in
Poland, for more than 15x forward EBITDA -- an important precedent that
underscores CETV's low market valuation. Importantly, CETV is expected
to grow revenue and generate cash flow at a much faster pace than TVN.
A
well run auction process should attract multiple interested parties
such as Scripps, Discovery, RTL, Modern Times Group and ProSieben, among
others. If CETV were acquired for the same 15x EBITDA multiple that
Scripps paid for TVN, our analysis indicates that the Company would be
valued at about $4.75 per share, representing 135% upside to the current
market price of CETV shares. We do not believe that any alternative
plan could generate such a high return for CETV shareholders.
Thank
you for your prompt consideration and we would welcome the opportunity
to discuss our views on CETV in more detail with you at your earliest
convenience.