I it might work better in the reverse, with a first run on the Disney Channel and a second run a week later on network television, a sort of incentive to get the Disney Channel and reward for those who do have Disney Channel. Kinda like YouTubers on Patreon.
A Hippie in the House of Mouse (Jim Henson at Disney, 1980)
- Thread starter Geekhis Khan
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Dis War VIIb: The Resolution
Chapter 9: An Alliance of Swine (Cont'd)
Excerpt from Kingdom Under Siege: The Wall Street War over Disney, by Taylor Johnson
The days until Boesky’s Friday call ticked by, each minute feeling like an hour, each hour like a day, each day like a week. The leaders did their best to keep morale up, but the tension was palpable.
Finally, July 13th arrived, a Friday. The board and the Round Table were there. So was Frank Oz. The speaker phone rang. Ivan Boesky’s voice came out loud, clear, and menacing. Once again, he’d recorded the call.
“This is Boesky. I won’t be long. Is the pig there?”
“Ah, oui oui, ha-ha,” said Frank Oz in Piggy’s voice, nervously[1].
“Good, but first, tell me what happens if Holmes à Court gains 49.9 [percent of the shares].”
Ray Watson took over. He described that they had a poison pill planned. He described the massive debt they would take on. He described how those who’d invested in Holmes à Court’s Kingdom Acquisitions would be bankrupted. On the advice of legal counsel, he did not tell Boesky about the consideration of a self-tender, fearing that this would cause Boesky to wait until that moment and sell his stocks very, very high, still dooming Disney.
There was silence on the line. Then, Boesky said, “You’re serious. You’ll kill Disney rather than see it broken up.”
“I’d rather follow the lead of the Roman generals,” Gold interjected, quoting Walker and dutifully playing his part. “Better to die by my own hand than be torn apart by barbarians.”
“Uh-huh,” said Boesky. “Hey, pig.”
“That’s Miss Piggy to you, pal,” said Frank, defiantly.
“Yes, the lover of ‘payr-eee’. I looked at the “Save Disney” advert. As an eight-point-four percent shareholder I’m entitled to, among other things, a free visit from Disney characters of my choice, even if I’ve since sold my stock. That includes you, right?”
“Ah, oui, that is true.”
“Does that apply even if I sell to Kingdom [Acquisitions]?”
There was a silent moment. Henson nodded. Watson nodded. Oz nodded. “Ah, oui, of course, mon amour, ha-ha!” said Oz/Piggy. “Just name the time and place, and I’m all yours!” Then he added, conspiratorially, “The Frog doesn’t need to know.”
Laughter broke out over the speaker phone. The tension broke. Everyone in the boardroom started to laugh now. Finally, Jim Henson interjected, “Mr. Boesky, if Walt Disney still exists in the coming months, you can have as many pigs as you want.”
“Great,” said Boesky, “My son Jon’s bar mitzvah is coming up. I’ll have my assistant send you the details.”
There was agreement in principle to this. Then, Bass broke in. “What did Holmes à Court offer you?”
“Ninety-five-four a share.” He’d actually offered Boesky $94.3 per share, the highest KA could logically go and still allow its investors to turn a reasonable profit on the takeover with interest and fees factored in. Disney stock was currently trading at $92.7
“We’ll give you ninety-seven,” said Bass.
“Deal,” said Boesky. A huge sigh of relief passed through the room[2].
In the following days, Ivan Boesky made his sale to The Round Table Group, giving them a commanding 51.1% of shares. Robert Holmes à Court and his backers and the various remaining arbs, most of them burdened under heavy short-term debt to fund their buys, scrambled to sell their stock. The price of Disney shares dropped precipitously in the sell-off, naturally, and would ultimately bottom out at $79.3 per share. The Round Table group would scoop up what shares they could during the fall.
Of particular note, Marriott, with the sale of the Great America park to the City of Santa Clara under threat due to a lawsuit by the Caz Development Company, made a direct deal with Kingdom Acquisitions partner Bally/Six Flags. Marriott traded the Great America park in Santa Clara in exchange for Bally’s Disney shares and an undisclosed exchange of cash and debt. The Santa Clara park would become a second Six Flags Great America[3] along with the park of the same name near Chicago previously acquired by Six Flags. Six Flags would, in turn, make a side deal with Caz for development contracts elsewhere, thereby eluding further legal actions.
The Round Table Group ultimately claimed a solid combined 63.5%. The Bass Brothers and Marriott were the largest external shareholders with 9.6% and 6.3%, respectively. Amblin claimed 1.3%, Apple Corp 0.7%, and Lucasfilm, LTD, 0.42%. Meanwhile, the Henson family remained the largest shareholder with 19.2%, Roy E. Disney was second with 13.4%, and the Disney-Miller-Lund family just behind Roy at 12.2%. Meanwhile, 4.4% was in the hands of suspected “Knights Errant” who would presumably hold on to their shares for a long period of time.
For the time being, Walt Disney Productions was safe.
[1] Since you asked @GrahamB and @Daibhid C, no, he did not bring the Piggy Muppet with him. I’ve noticed in all the behind-the-scenes features that in rehearsals, Frank just does the voice, though Jim always had the Muppet. I recall a table reading for The Muppet Show where Jim had Kermit on his hand talking along, while Frank just sat and stared at the paper, face blank, reading the text, Piggy nowhere in sight. What was uncanny was how much he brought the character to life just through the voice. You could see her expressions and movements even as his hand was bare and still! It’s no wonder the other Muppet Performers cited Frank as the “best”.
[2] @El Pip called it: it’s all about the Benjamins, or in Boesky’s case, the Woodrow Wilsons. The deal with Piggy is a power play. Showing his dominance.
[3] In our timeline the city ultimately bought the park in 1985 for $93.5 million and leased operations to Kings Entertainment Company. It ultimately got bought up by Paramount. In this timeline both Great America parks are owned and operated by Bally/Six Flags.
Excerpt from Kingdom Under Siege: The Wall Street War over Disney, by Taylor Johnson
The days until Boesky’s Friday call ticked by, each minute feeling like an hour, each hour like a day, each day like a week. The leaders did their best to keep morale up, but the tension was palpable.
Finally, July 13th arrived, a Friday. The board and the Round Table were there. So was Frank Oz. The speaker phone rang. Ivan Boesky’s voice came out loud, clear, and menacing. Once again, he’d recorded the call.
“This is Boesky. I won’t be long. Is the pig there?”
“Ah, oui oui, ha-ha,” said Frank Oz in Piggy’s voice, nervously[1].
“Good, but first, tell me what happens if Holmes à Court gains 49.9 [percent of the shares].”
Ray Watson took over. He described that they had a poison pill planned. He described the massive debt they would take on. He described how those who’d invested in Holmes à Court’s Kingdom Acquisitions would be bankrupted. On the advice of legal counsel, he did not tell Boesky about the consideration of a self-tender, fearing that this would cause Boesky to wait until that moment and sell his stocks very, very high, still dooming Disney.
There was silence on the line. Then, Boesky said, “You’re serious. You’ll kill Disney rather than see it broken up.”
“I’d rather follow the lead of the Roman generals,” Gold interjected, quoting Walker and dutifully playing his part. “Better to die by my own hand than be torn apart by barbarians.”
“Uh-huh,” said Boesky. “Hey, pig.”
“That’s Miss Piggy to you, pal,” said Frank, defiantly.
“Yes, the lover of ‘payr-eee’. I looked at the “Save Disney” advert. As an eight-point-four percent shareholder I’m entitled to, among other things, a free visit from Disney characters of my choice, even if I’ve since sold my stock. That includes you, right?”
“Ah, oui, that is true.”
“Does that apply even if I sell to Kingdom [Acquisitions]?”
There was a silent moment. Henson nodded. Watson nodded. Oz nodded. “Ah, oui, of course, mon amour, ha-ha!” said Oz/Piggy. “Just name the time and place, and I’m all yours!” Then he added, conspiratorially, “The Frog doesn’t need to know.”
Laughter broke out over the speaker phone. The tension broke. Everyone in the boardroom started to laugh now. Finally, Jim Henson interjected, “Mr. Boesky, if Walt Disney still exists in the coming months, you can have as many pigs as you want.”
“Great,” said Boesky, “My son Jon’s bar mitzvah is coming up. I’ll have my assistant send you the details.”
There was agreement in principle to this. Then, Bass broke in. “What did Holmes à Court offer you?”
“Ninety-five-four a share.” He’d actually offered Boesky $94.3 per share, the highest KA could logically go and still allow its investors to turn a reasonable profit on the takeover with interest and fees factored in. Disney stock was currently trading at $92.7
“We’ll give you ninety-seven,” said Bass.
“Deal,” said Boesky. A huge sigh of relief passed through the room[2].
In the following days, Ivan Boesky made his sale to The Round Table Group, giving them a commanding 51.1% of shares. Robert Holmes à Court and his backers and the various remaining arbs, most of them burdened under heavy short-term debt to fund their buys, scrambled to sell their stock. The price of Disney shares dropped precipitously in the sell-off, naturally, and would ultimately bottom out at $79.3 per share. The Round Table group would scoop up what shares they could during the fall.
Of particular note, Marriott, with the sale of the Great America park to the City of Santa Clara under threat due to a lawsuit by the Caz Development Company, made a direct deal with Kingdom Acquisitions partner Bally/Six Flags. Marriott traded the Great America park in Santa Clara in exchange for Bally’s Disney shares and an undisclosed exchange of cash and debt. The Santa Clara park would become a second Six Flags Great America[3] along with the park of the same name near Chicago previously acquired by Six Flags. Six Flags would, in turn, make a side deal with Caz for development contracts elsewhere, thereby eluding further legal actions.
The Round Table Group ultimately claimed a solid combined 63.5%. The Bass Brothers and Marriott were the largest external shareholders with 9.6% and 6.3%, respectively. Amblin claimed 1.3%, Apple Corp 0.7%, and Lucasfilm, LTD, 0.42%. Meanwhile, the Henson family remained the largest shareholder with 19.2%, Roy E. Disney was second with 13.4%, and the Disney-Miller-Lund family just behind Roy at 12.2%. Meanwhile, 4.4% was in the hands of suspected “Knights Errant” who would presumably hold on to their shares for a long period of time.
For the time being, Walt Disney Productions was safe.
[1] Since you asked @GrahamB and @Daibhid C, no, he did not bring the Piggy Muppet with him. I’ve noticed in all the behind-the-scenes features that in rehearsals, Frank just does the voice, though Jim always had the Muppet. I recall a table reading for The Muppet Show where Jim had Kermit on his hand talking along, while Frank just sat and stared at the paper, face blank, reading the text, Piggy nowhere in sight. What was uncanny was how much he brought the character to life just through the voice. You could see her expressions and movements even as his hand was bare and still! It’s no wonder the other Muppet Performers cited Frank as the “best”.
[2] @El Pip called it: it’s all about the Benjamins, or in Boesky’s case, the Woodrow Wilsons. The deal with Piggy is a power play. Showing his dominance.
[3] In our timeline the city ultimately bought the park in 1985 for $93.5 million and leased operations to Kings Entertainment Company. It ultimately got bought up by Paramount. In this timeline both Great America parks are owned and operated by Bally/Six Flags.
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The fact that a high-powered businessman wants to make a deal via a porcine puppet is somehow '80s as all hell! This TL is absolutely amazing!
I like that I've been able to follow the business side of things easily as well. I don't feel overwhelmed by jargon or having to crunch numbers to know what's going on.
I like that I've been able to follow the business side of things easily as well. I don't feel overwhelmed by jargon or having to crunch numbers to know what's going on.
and remember this is the 80s, so not the current low interest %, but stuff like 10-20% and maybe even more
and if the conversation about the things disney would do as a poison pill wasn't enough, it would have been made worse by the buyback clause that jim henson has.
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PHEW!
I thought this timeline was going to take a turn into the grim and gritty then- but the power of the Muppets, and Frank Oz (who should get a raise AND bonus!) wins through.
Thank you @Geekhis Khan , can’t wait for more Disney Drama!
I thought this timeline was going to take a turn into the grim and gritty then- but the power of the Muppets, and Frank Oz (who should get a raise AND bonus!) wins through.
Thank you @Geekhis Khan , can’t wait for more Disney Drama!
To be perfectly honest, I never expected Oz to perform with the puppet at a meeting. That the meeting that did happen took place over the phone actually leaves my pet theory unresolved, but I'll assume Boesky knew exactly what was going on as soon as he recognized the voice in that infamous first 'encounter'.
I must give full credit to you, Geekhis, your running theme of high-stress scenarios being broken then facilitated with humour and honesty is the sort of optimism and good business I hoped to see from this timeline.
Damn, that was a close call - for a minute there I thought this timeline would plunge into the grimdark abyss.
Is it going to turn out Piggy's (the non-Muppet one) son is a fan of the muppets?
no, the insider trading was boesky, the guy that just sold the shares to disney
Thanks, CobiWann. Being an engineer who has to explain science and engineering to business grads I've had to learn how to translate jargon and acronyms into Human.
Now put on a Members Only jacket and go back and read it while listening to Axel F and drinking a New Coke for the full '80s cliche experinece!
Pretty much. The combination of high profits, undervalued stocks, diversified corporations with tons of unrelated product lines, and high interest rates combined with a new Takeover Culture on Wall Street was the perfect storm for creating Junk Bond driven corporate raids that bought up and dismembered companies for short term gains since just doing a leveraged buyout was going to saddle you with debt.
Glad I kept things interesting. I was afraid I'd given away the ending a few times there.
The Insider Trading is in reference to Ivan Boesky. More on that in Saturday's "immediate aftermath" post.
I guess the Bowfinger thing is due to the Frank Oz connection, but that's a long way away and even my butterfly nets may not be able to contain them at that point. Wall Street gets a brief mention next post.
Thanks, and yes, Ivan realizes that there's a man behind the pig and whether he knew Frank Oz was that man or not he recognized that "Piggy", who was a pop culture icon in the late '70s and early '80s, was doing the talking.
"Piggy & Piggy" comes up in the next post, but I have no idea if Jon Boesky likes the Muppets or not. And in the end it doesn't matter if he does. This is Ivan showing his power. Disney mocked him before, but now the shoe is on the other foot, eh? And he didn't even have to mention this. He knew they knew, which had the twin advantages of both throwing the Disney Board off of their game and making it clear who had the upper hand in the negotiations. Gloating and revenge is for the weak, he might say, while the truly powerful can be seen being magnanimous. The king who stays the execution makes it clear that the condemned's life belongs to him, after all. All the Muppets showing up at his son's bar mitzva, whether his son wants them or not, makes this power apparent to all.
Despite Geekhis reply to this question. I can see Boesky and his son watching tv and the Muppets are on. Boesky would mention oh I had a conversation with that Ms. Piggy character. The son would likely laugh it off with as a joke. But now he is going to have her come to his bar mitzvah. With the caveat that he may have just saved her career.
I think New Coke could have made it if Coca-Cola didn't try to replace classic Coke with New Coke but instead sold both.Now put on a Members Only jacket and go back and read it while listening to Axel F and drinking a New Coke for the full '80s cliche experinece!
Yes, that seems possible. Again I know so little of Ivan and Jon's relationship and hate to speculate. That would make sense, though.
New Coke was an attempt to remove the Coca Leaf extract that gives Coke its unique flavor from the secret recipie, which as you might assume came with logistical and legal limitations. It turns out that Coke - Coca Leaf = Pepsi or RC. It wasn't that New Coke was bad per se, it was that it lost what made it Coke. FWIW I almost said "Tab" in that post.
nbcman
Donor
Nope. New Coke was hideously sweet - if I wanted to drink Pepsi, I'd drink a Pepsi and not New Coke! Even Fidel Castro disliked it. I switched to RC Cola during those Coke free months.
New Coke was developed because Coke had been losing market share and taste tests seemed to show that customers preferred Pepsi to Coke. From the perspective of Coke executives, it looked like they were going to go out of business without doing something. In reality, though, the taste tests were critically flawed in that they didn't take into account the emotional connection customers had with brands or how customers interacted with soft drinks over longer periods of time than a few minutes, and Coke's marketshare was probably somewhat higher than it would "naturally" have been previously. So the action was probably a mistake (unless the theory that it was a deliberate marketing ploy is correct, which seems unlikely to me).
Ouch. That's serious money. Going on your previous numbers for outstanding share that's the Round Table Group offering up just under $450 million for Boesky's shares.
And that is them "losing" $80million as the price of all those just acquired shares drops (plus whatever paper losses they have on their existing shares, plus whatever is being spent on catching the falling knife by buying up more Disney shares). Henson and Disney may not care too much about that, they are hardly likely to sell, but the rest of the Round Table Group may not be so altruistic.
Now I'm sure everyone is very pleased that Disney has been saved, but once everyone finishes celebrating and calms down then the bills will start coming due. A lot of money has been spent and good will is a short lived and fickle thing, people will want a 'return', maybe not in cash but somehow. If the share price recovers and the Theme Park side does well (particularly if the Marriotts get their hotels) then all might be fine, but if not... Well the Henson/Disney Family/Knight Errant 'core' group still lack a majority of shares, even if you would be a suicidally brave corporate raider to make a run at them again in the short term.
Yep. Once again @El Pip gets to the heart of the money. Now that the immediate threat is over, the much more complicated question begins: what does the New Disney look like? What do Bass and Marriott want in return? Can the new team pull off the "Disney Miracle" of OTL? I'll skip the melodrammatic organ music and just say "stay tuned".
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