By DADE HAYESNew investment scheme attracting big names
Hollywood has been hopping with hedge funds and pumped with private equity. Now, get ready for a SPAC attack.
The dissonant acronym -- which stands for Special Purpose Acquisition Company --represents a new investment scheme attracting big names and heralding a potential wave of media deals.
There are not apt to be deals in the $1 billion-plus price range. And many of the outfits tilt toward new media, videogames and telecom rather than TV and film production. But the list of those steering SPACs suggests that even modest-size deals could rearrange the media landscape in some intriguing ways.
The roster includes former high-ranking execs at Sony, AOL, DirecTV, ABC and Anchor Bay. Both R. Steven Hicks, the Austin, Texas-based radio mogul, and billionaire brother Tom Hicks jumped into the game last year, as did Ron Perelman. SPAC board members and advisors include the likes of one-time NBC exec Scott Sassa, Walden Media's Cary Granat and deep-pocketed AOL alum Ted Leonsis.
A more mellifluous shorthand for these firms -- "blank-check companies" -- helps explain their quirky mission and sudden popularity. And with everyone from Time Warner to Barry Diller rethinking the bigger-is-better mantra that helped create the media congloms, this could be prime time for those with blank checks to write.
There are now almost 100 such firms across all industries, at least eight of them targeting media and entertainment. The number of SPACs spiked 78% in 2007, according to industry tracker SPAC Analytics.
And Wall Street has taken notice.
Read more >>> Variety article
.
