Rupert Murdoch: MySpace is Now Worth $6 Billion
Tuesday November 14, 2:25 pm ET Eric Savitz (Barron's) submits: Speaking with investors at a meeting in Sydney, Australia, yesterday, News Corp.’s (NYSE: NWS - News) Rupert Murdoch reportedly said that the company’s MySpace unit could now be sold for $6 billion, or about 10x the $580 million News Corp. originally paid for the business. The $6 billion was reported in research notes this morning from UBS analyst Aryeh Bourkoff and Credit Suisse analysts Jolanta Masojada and William Drewry.
According to the reports, Murdoch said MySpace now has 130 million users, growing 8 million users a month; he expects 200 million users by mid-2007. Bourkoff says revenue from its advertising relationship with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG - News) should bring MySpace $50 million in fiscal 2007, $250 million in fiscal 2008 and $300 million in both 2009 and 2010.
On a separate topic, Bourkoff says that Murdoch offered “brief but positive” comments on the company’s ongoing talks with Liberty Capital (NASDAQ: LCAPA - News) in which News Corp. would swap its stake in DirecTV (NYSE: DTV - News) for Liberty’s stake in News Corp. According to Bourkoff, Murdoch noted that the transaction would serve as a large share repurchase. According to the Credit Suisse analysts, Murdoch said he was “optimistic” that the two sides were getting close to an agreement.
And one other note: Murdoch says the company should earn $100 million on the movie Borat, with total box office of at least $200 million. The movie cost $17 million to make.
Murdoch also repeated previous guidance that News Corp. should generate 14%-16% EBIT growth (before special items) in the June 2007 fiscal year.
News Corp. shares today are unchanged at $22.26.
Rupert Murdoch: MySpace is Now Worth $6 Billion: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
Tuesday November 14, 2:25 pm ET Eric Savitz (Barron's) submits: Speaking with investors at a meeting in Sydney, Australia, yesterday, News Corp.’s (NYSE: NWS - News) Rupert Murdoch reportedly said that the company’s MySpace unit could now be sold for $6 billion, or about 10x the $580 million News Corp. originally paid for the business. The $6 billion was reported in research notes this morning from UBS analyst Aryeh Bourkoff and Credit Suisse analysts Jolanta Masojada and William Drewry.
According to the reports, Murdoch said MySpace now has 130 million users, growing 8 million users a month; he expects 200 million users by mid-2007. Bourkoff says revenue from its advertising relationship with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG - News) should bring MySpace $50 million in fiscal 2007, $250 million in fiscal 2008 and $300 million in both 2009 and 2010.
On a separate topic, Bourkoff says that Murdoch offered “brief but positive” comments on the company’s ongoing talks with Liberty Capital (NASDAQ: LCAPA - News) in which News Corp. would swap its stake in DirecTV (NYSE: DTV - News) for Liberty’s stake in News Corp. According to Bourkoff, Murdoch noted that the transaction would serve as a large share repurchase. According to the Credit Suisse analysts, Murdoch said he was “optimistic” that the two sides were getting close to an agreement.
And one other note: Murdoch says the company should earn $100 million on the movie Borat, with total box office of at least $200 million. The movie cost $17 million to make.
Murdoch also repeated previous guidance that News Corp. should generate 14%-16% EBIT growth (before special items) in the June 2007 fiscal year.
News Corp. shares today are unchanged at $22.26.
Rupert Murdoch: MySpace is Now Worth $6 Billion: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
