Time Inc’s entry into the entertainment industry:
Just two weeks prior to the annual meeting where a decision on a merger with Warner is to be decided on, Time receives a hostile bid from Paramount. Time management now has to decide on how to move forward. The case text (p9) proposes three options: accepting Paramount’s bid, go ahead with the Warner merger, or acquire Warner. Paramount offers $175/share and indicates “its willingness to negotiate all aspects of the offer”. Is the proposed merger a better or worse option for Time’s shareholders? Why? Would you expect to make a bid on Warner to be more or less valuable to Time’s shareholders? How structure such a bid? If Time decides to try its luck with Warner and reject Paramount’s bid, how should it resist the Paramount bid? Solving the case requires both qualitative and quantitative arguments.