Billionaire Saban bows out of Muppets sale

[Phillip]

Saban will not be buying the Muppets. The suitors are dropping like flies... so to speak.

http://www.muppetcentral.com/news/2003/031003.shtml

 

[EmmyMik]

Soon I will be the only one left.

And I will buy the Muppets with some pocket lint, my "Pepe for President" button, and a birdfeeder made out of stale bread, peanut butter and seeds.

And it's shaped like a butterfly.

 

[BoyRaisin2]

Saban's out, yet CM's still aiming for a 49% purchase, and Valentine is still trying to structure some sort of deal. I just wonder if Disney will actually buy Henson (or their characters and library, whatever) since it seems they come into picture in and out. I wish there was a concise internet report or book or CNN "Moneyline" segment that would talk about everything, since this deal focusing on the MUPPETS of all things has turned into this big corporate drama. I don't feel like, once again (and again), hearing Disney being close to a deal then one of these other losers coming in with a "winning" bid.

So I don't think the suitors dropped like flies, unless you're talking about Viacom, Rivkin, and all them. Then yeah suitors dropped like bombs will drop on Saddam's weasilish face.

On that note: USA! USA! USA! That's it.

 

[FellowWLover]

Originally posted by BoyRaisin2


On that note: USA! USA! USA! That's it.

You are a brave, brave boy!

 

[BlueFrackle]

Guys,

If I was a company wanting to buy The Muppets... I would pay any amount of money that was needed, but im not.

So, If I was a company wanting to buy The Muppets i would wait until the last minute... By then the cost would have dropped alot.
Maybe Disney are waiting to do this ?

I just want the Mouse to fly in and do some magic and buy them !

 

[Zack the Dog]

I just want the Mouse to fly in and do some magic and buy them !

But Warrick, mouse's don't fly, they squeek...

Zack)Rowlf the, YES, i know it should be mice! I just wanted it to go with the flow!Dog.

 

[Luke]

I don't think they're dropping like flies at all - Saban tabled his offer long ago and knew it wasn't coming off, Valentines deal has not been cancelled or dropped at all (i know the Reuters headline was confusing but just reading the text surely people would get that). They simply abandoned the current terms and started negotiating new ones - he may well suceed. Now people jump up and down because they hear the name Disney but don't realise that Disney have no plans to buy the Jim Henson Company whatsoever - if EMTV really sold off certain 'assets' to them it really would be just a cop out deal because they couldn't find anyone else to invest in the actual company, it would pretty much mean the end of JHC and the start of the Muppets being locked away in a cupboard for a few years and just being brought out for show every now and again. A lot of this may just be Reuters digging up anything for a story - i'm not so sure how factual it all is, doesn't seem to be looking to good though.

 

[Muppetfreak]

I was actually wondering how old this info is. I belong to several of the children's TV news lists since the old days working at Sesame and we got an email a few days ago that the 49.9% Muppet deal was canceled for good. I didn't save the article though because I assumed Muppet Central was on it. I have not, however, seen anything about this on the forum. At last I heard, there are currently no official bidders for the Muppets and they are starting again from scratch. This is coming from Sesame Workshop, who I imagine would know, but perhaps there was a mix-up?

 

[Super Scooter]

Originally posted by EmmyMik
Soon I will be the only one left.

And I will buy the Muppets with some pocket lint, my "Pepe for President" button, and a birdfeeder made out of stale bread, peanut butter and seeds.

And it's shaped like a butterfly.

Perhaps, Emmy, you should *ahem* "borrow" Bill for a little while until they have no choice but to give you the company.

Just a thought.

 

[Luke]

Originally posted by Muppetfreak
I belong to several of the children's TV news lists since the old days working at Sesame and we got an email a few days ago that the 49.9% Muppet deal was canceled for good. I didn't save the article though because I assumed Muppet Central was on it.

Lists like that probably use the wires and articles as sources for news too i would imagine. There was some confusion with the Valentine thing. EMTV announced the current deal had failed, which i believe if he had an exclusive negotiation period for that exact specific deal they would have to do. It doesn't stop him re-bidding with a different deal though but Reuters completely messed up and sensationalist headline implied other things. The whole idea of EMTV announcing this could be just a technicality as whatever exclusive contract would have to be officially ended, or it could be them firing a warning shot through the press to stir up more interest in the sale.

There could be loads of reasons why Valentines original deal failed - as has been mentioned he could have been unable to finance the deal, taken too long and possibly Henson could have had a better offer. People don't take into account the idea of him wanting to end the deal himself though and renegotiate it under more favorable terms to him. Remember the Muppets profile has gone down considerably since all the anniversary hype died down, problems with news deals and TV shows, lots of trouble about to be stirred up in Germany. Maybe he thinks he was paying too much for too little - who knows ?