It has been quite some time since I blogged and during this interim period, a lot has happened: economic implosion perhaps weighs most heavily and the election of a new President in the US.
As for me I thought, I was done with this blog. But, perhaps not.
Over the last two months, I have been giving quite a lot of thought to Imdad Capital Ltd., my little business, and how to align it with what I have been doing and thinking for the past year. In some ways, it is the natural result of emerging from 1.6 years of extensive work with a Major Record Label owned by a UK based private equity firm. My work focused on digital, what a ride! I don't transition off until Christmas, but am in the process of putting into place my New Year plans and with it a realisation that I would quite like to blog...it gives me a creative outlet!
However, my focus moving forward will primarily be on the state of media restructurings/turnarounds taking place globally - think Virgin Media, News Corp et al...lots to discuss. Also, I may select a more mainstream blogging site...so watch this space.
But, the one thing - I know for sure - Change has arrived.
I think Rupert Murdoch is just great. Seriously, the man is just himself and says, it like he sees it & has no qualms in being clear about what drives him. Nice in this day and age. I found his recent interview - absolutely very interesting. You can watch it here, courtesy of CNET:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-9954545-56.html?tag=blogFeed
And, here are Murdoch's comments on Microsoft and Yahoo.
Murdoch on Microhoo: 'I'm mystified', Source: CNet News.com, Excerpt.
CARLSBAD, Calif.--
Rupert Murdoch, who is no stranger to the Microsoft-Yahoo affair, said even he is shaking his head at the lack of a deal.
"I'm mystified," Murdoch said. "I cannot understand the whole thing. Jerry Yang is a friend who we all love and admire and he's emotional about it."
Murdoch said that Microsoft offered a price that the vast majority of shareholders wanted but that Yang managed, at least for now, to fend them off. At the same, time, he said he's surprised Microsoft didn't press the point, something he said comes from their lack of mega-deal experience.
"They're not used to big deals, to buying big things," Murdoch said.
Murdoch said if he were Microsoft, he would have put the offer out there and let shareholders do the work for them. "You aim the gun. You decide to fire the gun. You've just got to sit and wait. It will come to you."
He is dubious, though, that a Microsoft-Yahoo deal isn't a merger that will actually come to fruition. "I think that will be rejected by the board, by everybody."
Murdoch also put in his two cents about whether Yahoo deals should be held up by regulators. "It would be very sad," he said. "Google is so good. (The have the) best search engine by far. They are just going on, getting bigger and bigger. It is just gushing money. You can see why Microsoft is worried."
On Carl Icahn's move, he said, "That's not serious. He wants to make a couple hundred million dollars for himself."
Apple on Monday sought to boost the limited appeal of its acclaimed, but modestly selling, iPhone as it announced that new models would sell for as little as half the price of the first version. The new model will be three times faster and use wireless technology!
The drastic cuts, which will bring the price of an 8-gigabyte model down to $199 and a 16GB version to $299, largely reflect subsidies from mobile operators who hope to make money from selling data services with the handsets, according to people familiar with the arrangements.
The song for today is: Carry On - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRLEqTNt5sM
Yes, my love of Ben's Brother continues...though, the end if coming near!
Have been watching the M&A and buy-out activity of Chinese and Indian firms who are increasingly focusing their attention on the West. And believe this type of activity will definitely be on the increase as China and India continue to grow in economic strength.
This was the focus, in part of the India Investor Summit I attended a few weeks ago as a guest of my good friend Richard Feigen at Seymour Pierce, http://www.seymourpierce.com who was one of the sponsors of the conference. Richard is utterly delightful and has been a very good friend since we met a few years ago and a pretty great business man too.
Anyway, the long and short of it is that the publisher of the Times of India has bought Virgin Radio from SMG for £53.2m ($105.3m), in its first international acquisition and its first step towards an ambitious vision of creating a new music entertainment brand for the UK.
SMG, the Scottish broadcaster, sold the national AM licence and FM London licence to TIML Golden Square, a subsidiary of Bennett Coleman, the Indian publisher, and Absolute Radio, a radio investor and consultancy backed by Irish property money.
This is possibly the third or perhaps, fourth acquisition of this type that I have read in the Financial Times over the last three weeks and a pattern tends to lead to a trend.
More undoubtedly to follow.
Have a great Mon and here's to Jesse McCartney: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ44T47Hw6g&feature=related
To mark the anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953, the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) in conjunction with the British Council in Nepal has created an exhibition called Imaging Everest from its collection of approximately 20,000 photographs taken on the nine Mount Everest Expeditions between 1921 and 1953. These expeditions were jointly organized by the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club.
The exhibition shows the importance of the landscape and people of the Himalayan region and tells the story of those involved in the first attempts to climb Everest. This is the first time that the Society is aware of a collection of Everest images from the Everest Archive being shown in Nepal. Sir Edmund Hillary will officially open the exhibition Imaging Everest on May 28, 2003 at the British Council headquarters in Kathmandu, Nepal. The exhibition runs from May to July 2003 and will then be on display at the International Mountaineering Museum in Nepal.
Source: Royal Geographic Society.
An online version of the Imaging Everest exhibition can be accessed here:
Definitely worth viewing!
I have been doing quite a lot of thinking about venture in Europe and if you have followed my blog - undoubtedly know that I have fought for venture, cried over venture and worshipped at the feet of the venture God. #
About two years into my journey - I think I may have come to a conclusion. And, it surprises even me...I don't believe any more that venture in Europe is sustainable or competitive at this time. <sound of minor explosion>
Okay, that sound you heard - was every one of my venture colleagues, simultaneously deleting me from their email directory. Trust me that little statement is equivalent to my wearing white heels before Easter! Just not done...
Why might you ask do I hold this view? Well, over the past two years - I have been studying quite closely the early-stage companies that are emerging in the UK and Europe and aside from a notable exceptions (and no I don't mean Skype) - there just isn't that much to be said about European venture backed start-ups.
No doubt that you think - I must be irrational, when everyone else was heavily focused on buy-outs, I kept pushing venture as a good way to diversify the risk of your portfolio as I argued these good days aren't going to last forever. And now that large buy-out has gone the way of the dinosaurs for the moment anyway, and any other reasonable person would be pushing venture....I am saying quite the opposite.
Hmm...perhaps, I am wrong...but I just don't think so. I just have a sense, perhaps, a fifth sense that there has been some gradual shift in the venture space and the world of early-stage companies makes them a little less appealing for now anyway.
What does this mean for venture. Probably, not very much as this is just one woman's opinion. However, I would watch this space & as for me and where am I headed with Imdad...am tinkering with it at present and have a few ideas...reinvention is a good thing, it makes us sustainable for the longer term. Or as Darwin would say, it truly is a case of "survival of the fittest". This sentiment - I do believe.
On a work related note, yes - I still do work...I found the article in the FT about the inability of web 2.0 generation of internet companies to produce revenue reminiscent of the first dot-com boom and crash. And, am of the view that Web 2.0 companies will follow the pattern established by their older and wiser peers.
In other words, it is a matter of timing and maturity of business models. Thus, the findings aren't particularly suprising to me...though the period when things begin to gain financial speed are outside my ability to predict or control.
Web 2.0 fails to produce cash
Many members of the Web 2.0 generation of internet companies have so far produced little in the way of revenue, despite bringing about some significant changes in online behaviour, according to some of the entrepreneurs and financiers behind the movement.
The shortage of revenue among social networks, blogs and other “social media” sites that put user-generated content and communications at their core has persisted despite more than four years of experimentation aimed at turning such sites into money-makers. Together with the US economic downturn and a shortage of initial public offerings, the failure has damped the mood in internet start-up circles.
PS: HR-HB!, check your email for b-present.
I have been reflecting on the wise words and wisdom of Henry David Thoreau and share some of his words - that - always provide pause for thought.
Thoreau:
"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment."
Walking on the surface of this planet are a few Capitalist Gods, who make, create and even occassionally destroy markets or Companies.
One such man is Warren Buffet, for whom I hold a deep respect & fondness. There something about his candidness coupled with humility that I find rather endearing - he's also a self made man, a quality that I find speaks volume's about a person's drive, commitment, and ability to realise personal visions.
Thus, it was time to return from my sabbatical to share Mr. Buffett's news, that he with Mars is taking over Wrigley.
Undoubtedly, Wrigley's meets Mr. Buffett's investment test:
- A consumer orientated business, Mr Buffett has an 8 per cent stake in Coca-Cola
- Upside potential: during a downturn, confectionery companies are often good investments during recessions as people cut back on luxuries and comfort themselves with small indulgences such as chocolate bars.
- Finally, Mr. Buffett only takes stakes or buys companies in which he is able to grasp the company's product and the sustainability of its competitive edge.
As, I have fond memories of buying Wrigley's gum from my weekly pocket money, I wish Mr. Buffett - the very best.
Here is the Wrigley - Gum is Good commercial. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mVPzlJ54JaU
Well, why not? Life is short & it's better to have a sense of humour and smile through the absurdity of it all then to scowl! Don't you think?
Mars and Buffett agree $23bn Wrigley purchase
Mars is reshaping the confectionery industry with an agreed $23bn takeover of Wrigley, the world’s biggest chewing gum maker, financed in part by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
In a deal structured in a similar way to a leveraged buy-out, privately owned Mars will provide $11bn in equity, with Mr Buffett providing $4.4bn in subordinated debt. Goldman Sachs, which advised Wrigley, is supplying $5.7bn in senior debt.
