source: http://www.crainsny.com/news.cms?id=10129
March 10, 2005
Cablevision chair to use cash, stock to fund Voom (NYBusiness) 03.10.05
(NYBusiness) Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan will use $10 million of his own cash and stock to fund the near-term losses of money-losing satellite business Voom while he and son Thomas figure out how to keep the business up and running.
The new board of the Bethpage, L.I., company has given Mr. Dolan until March 31 to come up with a plan for saving Voom. Last week, Mr. Dolan appointed several new members of the board and fired three members who had been pushing for a shutdown of the business. Earlier this week, Mr. Dolan agreed to fund the costs of the business above the expenses that would have been incurred under a shutdown.
Even though Mr. Dolan is demonstrating a willingness to finance the near-term losses of Voom, Cablevision’s entrepreneurial management style continues to draw criticism. Standard & Poor’s yesterday revised its outlook on the company to “developing” from “positive,” saying that the board changes “could potentially lead to a shift to a more risky overall corporate strategy.” The ratings agency also cited the company’s new interest in real estate as an example of the risks it faces—Cablevision recently offered $600 million for the West Side rail yards to block the Jets’ plans to build a stadium that would vie with Cablevision’s Madison Square Garden.
COPYRIGHT 2005 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC.
March 10, 2005
Cablevision chair to use cash, stock to fund Voom (NYBusiness) 03.10.05
(NYBusiness) Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan will use $10 million of his own cash and stock to fund the near-term losses of money-losing satellite business Voom while he and son Thomas figure out how to keep the business up and running.
The new board of the Bethpage, L.I., company has given Mr. Dolan until March 31 to come up with a plan for saving Voom. Last week, Mr. Dolan appointed several new members of the board and fired three members who had been pushing for a shutdown of the business. Earlier this week, Mr. Dolan agreed to fund the costs of the business above the expenses that would have been incurred under a shutdown.
Even though Mr. Dolan is demonstrating a willingness to finance the near-term losses of Voom, Cablevision’s entrepreneurial management style continues to draw criticism. Standard & Poor’s yesterday revised its outlook on the company to “developing” from “positive,” saying that the board changes “could potentially lead to a shift to a more risky overall corporate strategy.” The ratings agency also cited the company’s new interest in real estate as an example of the risks it faces—Cablevision recently offered $600 million for the West Side rail yards to block the Jets’ plans to build a stadium that would vie with Cablevision’s Madison Square Garden.
COPYRIGHT 2005 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC.
