Time Warner has rejected an $80bn bid from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, setting up a stand-off between two of the biggest names in television and film at a time when content companies have become dwarfed by the cable and satellite groups that carry their programming.
时代华纳(Time Warner)拒绝了来自鲁珀特•默多克(Rupert Murdoch)旗下21世纪福克斯(21st Century Fox)的800亿美元收购要约，影视界两大品牌就此搭起对峙的舞台。目前内容商的风头日益被播放节目的有线和卫星电视公司盖过。
Mr Murdoch has pulled off many audacious deals over the last half century, but the media mogul saved his biggest bid until well into his ninth decade. The cash and stock offer, worth about $86 a share based on Tuesday’s closing price, would add HBO, Turner and Warner Bros to his empire and unite media brands from Batman to Fox News host Bill O’Reilly.
过去半个世纪期间，默多克完成了许多大胆的交易，但这位媒体大亨将最大的一笔收购留到了自己80多岁高龄时。这份现金加股权的收购要约（按照周二的收盘价相当于每股出价86美元）如果成功，将把美国家庭电影频道(HBO)、特纳(Turner)以及华纳兄弟(Warner Bros)纳入他的帝国版图，并将从《蝙蝠侠》(Batman)到福克斯新闻主播比尔•奥赖利(Bill O’Reilly)的媒体品牌整合到一起。
The offer was made in early June at a private lunch in Time Warner’s Manhattan headquarters attended by Chase Carey, Mr Murdoch’s top lieutenant, and Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner’s chairman and chief executive.
这一并购方案是6月初在时代华纳曼哈顿总部一个私人午宴上提出的。参加那次午宴的有默多克头号助手蔡斯•凯里(Chase Carey)和时代华纳董事长兼首席执行官杰夫•比克斯(Jeff Bewkes)。
When Mr Carey mentioned the offer, Mr Bewkes abruptly ended the lunch to consult with his board, said a person familiar with the situation.
一位熟悉当时情况的人士表示，当凯里提到这一方案时，比克斯突然终止了午餐，以便与他的董事会商讨此事。
An $80bn bid is the second-largest media and entertainment deal, according to data from Thomson Reuters, after AOL’s ill-fated $164bn takeover of Time Warner in 2000.
根据汤森路透(Thomson Reuters)的数据，800亿美元的开价在媒体和娱乐产业中是史上规模第二大交易，排在2000年美国在线(AOL)斥资1640亿美元收购时代华纳的交易之后——那场收购结局不佳。