2008 - Roundtable Session 1
Welcome to the first in a series titled ‘The Business of Digital Media.’ The series, in concert with Scribe Media and the Wharton Interactive Media Initiative, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, features provocative and informative discussions with top media executives about myriad changes in media markets wrought by the Web.
The series explores the dramatic shift in media budgets from traditional media channels to digital-media properties, the economic models of interactive businesses along with the value drivers which continue to deliver robust acquisition values for business owners.
In this first installment of the series, we tackle trends in the media M&A landscape. In the current climate the line between strategic media companies and private equity firms is getting decidedly blurry. Private equity players historically buy media companies with an exit strategy in mind and strategic players take a long view. However, amid a volatile economy, both sides are now looking for properties with a broad economic foundation to minimize exposure to advertising cycles and maximize opportunities in other areas of the media.
We get perspective on strategic media players from Lauren Wiener, senior VP of Meredith Interactive, while Robert Nolan, Jr., Managing Partner of private equity firm Halyard Capital, provides intelligence from a private equity investor’s standpoint. Jeff Reinhardt, managing director of Berkery Noyes, and Matthew Schwartz, senior editor of ScribeMedia.org, steer the discussion.
We invite you to view the video and then contact Contact By Email Jeff Reinhardt, the senior investment banker in our Digital Information Group, to discuss how this information can inform your strategic thinking.