The newly trading Starz stock offers no “upside” over the next...
The newly trading Starz stock offers no “upside” over the next 12 months, wrote Evercore Partners analysts Peter Lee and Bryan Kraft in a note to investors. They said they don’t think the company will be sold imminently, though Liberty…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Media was motivated to spin the company off so it could eventually sell it tax efficiently. “A transaction could provide upside, but it is unclear who the buyer might be as the large media companies are unlikely to be interested,” the analysts wrote. Meanwhile, the company is expected to invest more in original programming, which can be hit-or-miss, they said. “An original programming strategy is not easy to execute.” Plus, Starz’s affiliate fees could be under pressure as its distribution agreements come up for renewal, Lee and Kraft said. “We believe there is some risk that affiliate fee growth will be limited until all of the major distributors have renewed."