Tutor, Colony Said to Prepare Deposit for Disney’s Miramax Unit
07-29-10
BusinessWeek

Construction executive Ronald Tutor and private-equity firm Colony Capital LLC plan to make a deposit on their proposed purchase of Walt Disney Co.’s Miramax film division, said two people with knowledge of the situation.

The buyers have informed Disney they will make the nonrefundable payment by tomorrow’s deadline, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. An announcement may come as soon as tomorrow, they said.

Disney began winding down Miramax, founded by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, in October. The studio’s 700-film library, which includes Oscar winners “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction,” was one of several movie operations on the block. Liberty Media Corp. agreed to sell its Overture unit to Relativity Media LLC last week. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is seeking buyers after falling behind on $3.7 billion of debt.

Disney, the world’s largest media company, fell 12 cents to $34.28 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has gained 6.3 percent this year.

Disney today agreed to acquire Playdom, a maker of games for social networks, for $563.2 million.

The Burbank, California-based media company demanded a $40 million deposit from Tutor and Colony by tomorrow, the New York Times reported yesterday. The buyers were also to deliver a plan to finance the purchase for about $650 million plus about $25 million in closing costs, the newspaper said, citing several people speaking anonymously.

Signed commitments from lenders aren’t required by tomorrow’s deadline, the Times said.

A Disney spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A Colony spokesman declined to comment.

Weinstein Brother

Tutor, chairman and chief executive of Sylmar, California- based Tutor Perini Corp., didn’t return calls seeking comment. He has vied for Miramax with Los Angeles investor Ron Burkle and the Weinstein brothers, who were working on a $625 million offer, people with knowledge of the situation said earlier this month.

The Weinsteins sold Miramax, named after their parents Miriam and Max, to Disney in 1993. The two, who left in 2005, control rights to some films and are acquainted with both Tutor and Colony founder Tom Barrack, according to one of the people.

Disney was seeking $600 million to $700 million for Miramax.

--With reporting by Ronald Grover in Los Angeles. Editors: Anthony Palazzo, Stephen West

To contact the reporters on this story: Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net; Jason Kelly in New York at jkelly14@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net

Please CLICK HERE to login if you would like to add a comment to this article.

Article Comments:

There are no comments on this article at this time.