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| Martore, Shive, Magner, Harker and Nason |
In a story today, The Wall Street Journal notes that CEO Gracia Martore’s counterpart at Belo was also a woman, Dunia Shive. So, too, were Martore’s fellow GCI leaders, Chairman Marjorie Magner and CFO Victoria Harker. Meanwhile, the media company turned to its long-time banker at J.P. Morgan, Jennifer Nason, global chairman of technology, media and telecom investment banking.
"There’s often a lot of swashbuckling in deals," Nason told the WSJ. "Here there was no nonsense, just a push to get it done, and do it right. We aren’t here to be masters of the universe."
Well done to them. Great deal, well executed. Gives confidence for the future.
ReplyDelete4:41 PM -- LOL
ReplyDeleteIts a tiny deal, all things considered, still, a sexist angle. Jim?
ReplyDeleteJim, don't be stupid. Do you seriously think these gals sat around at lunch and said I will buy if you sell? This was all Dave Lougee's deal from the start.
ReplyDeleteWow that's about as sexist as you can get.
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ReplyDeleteOne more sign that print is dead
ReplyDeleteI think I see why there have been so many layoffs in print. These woman have never spent time on the production or distribution side of the business. They have no clue the physical demands that are placed on workers to get a Newspaper out. Martore is an accountant who never had to work a job away from a desk.
ReplyDeleteI've now seen a couple of articles that have positioned this deal as empowering women. Many like the one below imply that men arguably could not have done it. Interesting perspectives happening that walk that fine sexist line as some have already pointed out on this blog.
ReplyDeleteGannett Jumps 25%: GCI Ladies Show The Guys How To Do An Accretive Deal
http://www.forbes.com/sites/joanlappin/2013/06/13/gannett-jumps-25-gci-ladies-show-the-guys-how-to-do-an-accretive-deal/?
But, perhaps the media would be saying the same thing if all of the people in this deal were Black, Hispanic, or all openly from the LGBT community. It's sad that our society/culture is what it is today that the media has to point out how apparently different something is just because of the physical characteristics of the players involved. But, I suppose it's to be expected.
At any rate, it doesn't matter of the gender or race of who negotiated the deal. When one pulls back the layers, this merger will not go down in history as being especially strategic or in any way visionary. It is a short-term fix to Gannett (and Belo's) huge problem of declining media audiences and advertising revenue. The goal: Make investors happy, scale up, reduce costs, consolidate, mask the print asset's continued death spiral and stay in the game just a little bit longer.
Take $1.5B and invest in a strategy that would actually transform the business or create new opportunities that might possibly reshape the media space? Oh no, that's too hard and way too risky. Let's add more old media to our portfolio and double down on this local news and information thing. Let's ride this horse until it dies. But, hey, if women across corporate America want to laud this deal as an awesome step forward for them, go for it.
You nailed it.
DeleteLike someone said earlier, Gracia has to retire by 2016, so short-term management of GCI (accretive purchases/synergies, buybacks, layoffs, building sales, etc.) is Job 1 for her. When she bails in 2-3 years and cashes in her options, look out below, IMHO.
Meanwhile, enjoy the ride.
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ReplyDeleteLet's not miss the bigger point. This was a great deal for both companies. Belo had too much debt to grow. Gannett now has the throw-weight to stand up to the networks and cable providers.
ReplyDeleteThe deal also makes the possibility of splitting the print and broadcast divisions much better. And if Gannett can find a buyer for that iconic-but-rapidly-decaying asset, USA Today, that cash would go far towards paying off the Belo debt. They probably shouldn't ask Barry Diller, though.
Thanks for checking in Dave.
Delete11:04: You sound confused. The physical demands of getting the paper out are irrelevant. In two years there will be no paper and no production staff. That is the future.
ReplyDeleteConfused you mean they will have destroyed their print business in only two years? What a terrible thing they are doing. Don't tell me Digital is the future or papers are dead. You can't be spied on by reading a Newspaper. Some people must still value privacy.
Delete4:52...I'm sure Lougee had a lot to do with it but I'll bet he'll be the first to tell you the two CEO's get the credit for finding a path to a deal.
ReplyDelete"Swashbuckling" huh. Guess that's a shot a men? Well, ladies, just so you know, men have been putting deals together for years....some historic in their significance, so let's just take the "swashbuckling" tone down a notch. I just pray to God that the none of these women said, "hey, let's merge our companies because we're all women."
ReplyDeleteIt was all Maryam.
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