Merrill
News and information company Bloomberg LP could be a hotly contested asset if a stake went on the block, although the most likely buyer was seen by some as founder and billionaire Michael Bloomberg himself.
Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) CEO John Thain said on Wednesday that the world’s largest brokerage would consider selling its 20 percent stake in Bloomberg worth an estimated $5 billion to $6 billion.
Sovereign wealth funds, flush with cash; private equity; or media rivals — like News Corp (NWSa.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), with its CNBC business news television channel unit, and Financial Times publisher Pearson PLC (PSON.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) — could see it as an alluring asset.
“It’s a very important strategic asset. There’s nothing quite like it,” said Rick Wetmore, analyst at Turner Investment Partners, who managed about $26 billion as of the end of March. “There’s a whole host of organizations that would like it: sovereign wealth, private equity, a big media company.”
New York Mayor Bloomberg, who founded the company and still owns around 70 percent, could use some of his estimated $10 billion fortune in buying Merrill out online payday loan.
Financial data about the privately held Bloomberg is hard to come by, but David Anderson at Inside Market Data Reference, who follows news and data services like Bloomberg and its primary competitor, Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(TRIL.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), said Bloomberg’s 2007 revenue was about $5.4 billion.
The problem is that most buyers might have eyes that are bigger than their stomachs.
While big media conglomerates would like what analysts said is likely high, steady cash flow and access to an influential news and financial data outlet, few if any of them have the money that it would take to buy the stake, they said.
Filed under: money by Fred