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Elon’s Deal Heat
Media Mondays, Tesla Margin Calls, Depp’s Dark Arts  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 
The Daily Courant

Media Mondays, Tesla Margin Calls, Depp’s Dark Arts

Welcome back to the Daily Courant, your afternoon capsule of new reporting at Puck.

First up, William D. Cohan reveals the M&A logic behind Warren Buffett’s oracular bet on Shari Redstone; why Elon Musk still holds all the cards in his battle with Twitter; and what bankers are saying about the biggest open secret on Wall Street.

Plus, below the fold, Matt Belloni reports on how the Depp-Heard trial has brought the dark arts of media manipulation from D.C. to Hollywood. And Jon Kelly joins Peter Hamby for another round of media banter regarding Blackstone’s endlessly fascinating content roll-up play.

What Warren Sees in Shari
What Warren Sees in Shari
News and notes on Buffett’s mediaco M&A play, Elon’s latest machinations, and why Wall Street bankers love Brian Roberts.
WILLIAM D. COHAN WILLIAM D. COHAN
My former M&A banker instincts were triggered this week after Warren Buffett, the most gifted investor of our lifetime, disclosed a $2.6 billion stake in Paramount Global, formerly ViacomCBS, a company whose leadership I have occasionally criticized. Paramount, after all, holds an awkward position on the streaming leaderboard, not only too small to compete with the likes of Netflix and Disney but also too bulky—following Shari Redstone’s recombination of the Viacom and CBS assets—to be easily acquirable by a rival, especially as long as the once-beloved CBS linear television network remains in the picture.

If there is one thing I know about Buffett, it is that he tries pretty damn hard not to overpay for companies. So let’s stipulate that he thinks Paramount Global is undervalued. Since Warren revealed Berkshire Hathaway’s stake on Monday, in a S.E.C. filing, the Paramount Global stock is up around 16.5 percent in a very rocky market. That doesn’t yet prove Warren is right that the company is undervalued, but it does prove that the Buffett halo is still for real. It’ll take longer to prove whether C.E.O. Bob Bakish and his team at Paramount Global can live up to whatever Buffett is expecting from it. (Buffett did not respond to my request for comment.)

Personally, I suspect the underpinning of Buffett’s logic is the M&A play that has been lingering over what Shari is now calling Paramount Global ever since its inception as ViacomCBS in 2019. One of the biggest open secrets on Wall Street is that Shari would happily sell the company to the right suitor offering the right price. I can assure you that Aryeh Bourkoff, Shari’s banker, has thought of every permutation and combination out there that would make it happen...
CONTINUE READING ONLINE
FOUR STORIES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
Depp's Bot Army
Depp's Bot Army
The dark art of media manipulation for political gain comes to Hollywood.
MATTHEW BELLONI
ATTN & Elon’s Angle
ATTN & Elon’s Angle
Jon Kelly joins Peter to talk Hollywood’s buzziest roll-up play and Musk’s recalibration.
PETER HAMBY
Allred vs. Cosby
Allred vs. Cosby
Why might Allred, not the disgraced comic, take the witness stand in the upcoming civil trial?
ERIQ GARDNER
Roberts' EA Flirtation
Roberts' EA Flirtation
The Comcast-NBCUniversal chief was close to a deal that would have changed the content wars.
DYLAN BYERS
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