Four suitors pursue Muppet-maker Henson-sources

[Phillip]

Four suitors pursue Muppet-maker Henson-sources
Courtesy of Yahoo News

After more than a year of struggling to find a buyer for Muppet-maker Jim Henson (news) Co., Germany's EM.TV is now in talks with four possible bidders and hopes to unload the unit before the end of the year, people familiar with the situation said Friday.

EM.TV is negotiating to sell the creators of Miss Piggy and Big Bird to either Entertainment Rights Plc , privately held Classic Media or the former chief executive of United Paramount Network, Dean Valentine, these people said.

A fourth possible buyer is billionaire investor Haim Saban, who built his fortune on the children's characters Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and whose interest in the Muppets had been previously reported.

EM.TV is facing a deadline on a 63.9 million euro ($64.5 million) loan that comes due at the end of the year and company sources have said they hopes to sell Henson by then. People familiar with the deal expect the unit to fetch between $100 million to $150 million.

People inside EM.TV have said in the past that the company also might try to hang on to a minority stake in Henson to retain access to some of the programming and character rights.

Representatives for all the individuals and companies involved could not be reached for comment.

Aside from Saban, who raked in about $1.5 billion from the sale of his stake in Fox Family Worldwide last year, it was unclear whether any or all of the suitors had lined up the necessary financing yet to do a deal.

London-based Entertainment Rights, which develops and licenses children's programming, has a market capitalization of about $43 million, based on its Friday closing price on the London Stock Exchange.

Classic Media, which holds the rights to kid's characters including Casper the Friendly Ghost, is privately held and does not have to publicly reveal its finances.

Saban, who now runs Saban Capital Group, submitted a $128 million bid with private equity firm Evercore Partners Inc. in October.

Jim Henson Co., which grew to fame designing beloved children's characters, is now primarily a television and film production company. Its most recent made-for-TV movie "It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie" drew 11 million viewers on NBC last Friday.

When the company's namesake, Jim Henson, died suddenly 12 years ago, Disney pulled out of a deal to buy the company, believing Henson embodied the empire he founded in 1958. Henson's son, Brian, ran the business until he and the family sold it to EM.TV in February 2000.

EM.TV paid $680 million for Jim Henson Co., but has since sold the Sesame Street Muppets characters to the Sesame Workshop for $180 million and the company's stake in Crown Media Holdings Inc. for about $100 million.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20021206/media_nm/henson_2

 

[Luke]

I know 'Entertainment Rights' very well and they would be ok at a push - the only problem would be Henson persuading them that the Muppets aren't just for kids but the company does seem to be moving away from childrens properties and picking up some nostalgic ones but the problem is they relaunch them for children again and not the older nostalgia crowd. However they handled the relauch of 'Basil Brush' well in the UK so have some puppet experience. My problem with them is that the main thing they do is aquire and distribute shows and licenses (ie :- Transformers Armada), they don't have much real TV production experience ...... then again most of these companies don't. What kinda scares me is that almost all companies looking at Henson are one's based around distribution and aquisition rather than TV and Film production. I hope the Muppets don't come down to just a video library and these companies don't have the resources to really get the Muppets back on track with original productions like we have begun to see this year - i think there'd likely be a lot of changes and even more cost cutting so they could get some money back on what they paid. I would like to see them owned by a UK company though and i've heard a few others are very interested too though it'd suprise me if EMTV really manages to offload JHC by the end of this year.

 

[beaker]

I believe a line in the sand most be made with this business, even if it's purely a symbolic one. These suitors named don't seem to truly have a vision, and merely seem to want to add a few notches to their bed post.

This is serious business to me, as we as fans have waited over a decade for change. Who out there has the vision and heart in it, not just merely fancying the idea?

With the exception of Disney, these other purely kiddy based companies show red flags miles away that they need to keep out.
These companies seem to have a one track kiddy programming agenda, and merely seem to want to milk the back catlogue and possible sugar coated future as they see it.

Being this is sadly a question of who has the cash(ie: it's mostly if not all up to EM.TV bankholders and the like) it's going to come down to whose willing to step over the line, not just to the plate.
If only someone like Rivkin headed up one of these suitors, someone who sees with their heart not their quarter statements.

I for one can not stand to see JHC and the Muppets fall further into obscurity and 'nostalgia'. If the wrong choice in buyer comes along, or worse...JHC is broken up and sold should EM.TV really crumble unexpedly...'old glory' may be all we have left with some cool merchandise.

 

[sarah_yzma]

sugar coated

BLECH! I don't know who would be the best to just let the muppets go as they want.....i would but too bad i ain't sitting on a pile of cash....but if i win the lottery.....

 

[Danny Horn]

Here's another possibility:

http://www.toughpigs.com/journalsurvivor.htm


-- Danny
www.ToughPigs.com
Muppet Fans with Bad Attitudes

 

[Luke]

Originally posted by Danny Horn
Here's another possibility:

http://www.toughpigs.com/journalsurvivor.htm

**** - Well they could forget the island and just put the company on Ebay ...... of course then they'd probably be ridiculed on Toughpigs 'Tales Of Ebay' but at least they'd win some candy !

 

[beaker]

LOL! Oh man that is too much...

Btw, the sale is down to less than a $100 million? At this rate me just might see the Muppets on ebay! I can just see it now

cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1976888700172653474623827643923734937349473293

The Jim Henson Company Muppets Creature Shop MOC/HTF
(would make a great gift!)
Item # 1976888700172653474623827643923734937349473293

Currently US $2500.00

Buy Now!: $65 million

Maybe someone should put a joke auction on ebay, but make it osund autehntic. Though Im not to sure JHC would appreciate the joke...especially if they get some whiny brat in Dakota who keeps emailing them 'Hey! I won!'

 

[Bean Bunny]

what happen to Disney, Viacom, and AOL Time Warner? They have more money than all of the companies currently bidding combined.

 

[Jeffrey Gray]

Disney: Financial problems. Losing lots of money. Refused to pay EM.TV's original asking price. (Besides, Disney will screw up the Muppets, and turn them into cardboard cut-outs of themselves. Remember what they did to their classic characters? They turned them into mere icons, cardboard cut-outs who can never develop beyond where they are now...)

AOL Time Warner: Financial problems. Losing lots of money. Have to concentrate on getting back onto their feet after the merger that set off their rapid loss of money.

Viacom: I have no idea. Probably didn't want/need the Muppets.

 

[Bean Bunny]

4 Kids Entertainment, DIC, Big Ideas, HIT Entertainment and ADV might as well jump into the bids as well. Think of the possibilies, Muppet Babies: The New Adventures only on 4 Kids Entertainment video.