From skyreport.com
Link to report
With Spin Off Scrapped, What's Next for VOOM?
Now that Cablevision has scrapped plans to spin off VOOM and Rainbow DBS along with a handful of programming assets, Wall Street is speculating about what's next for the satellite TV platform.
In a short statement released via a Securities and Exchange Commission filing early Tuesday, Cablevision said its board of directors decided to suspend pursuing the spin-off of its Rainbow Media Enterprises subsidiary, including the VOOM/Rainbow DBS assets, and instead to pursue strategic alternatives for the DBS business.
Most on Wall Street cheered the Cablevision decision, and said they expect a sale of the VOOM/Rainbow DBS assets. And the No. 1 candidate for purchase of those satellite TV goods is EchoStar, some in the financial community said.
Tom Eagan of Oppenheimer and Co. said, "We think Cablevision has decided that the VOOM satellite TV platform does not have much of a future and that it should be sold. The likely buyer for the satellite (VOOM's Rainbow 1) is EchoStar as they need satellite transmission capacity for HDTV, and moreover, already have a satellite - which is actually wounded - at 61.5 degrees."
Richard Greenfield of Fulcrum Global Partners also agreed that the most likely buyer of the Rainbow DBS/VOOM assets is EchoStar. "Given our belief that there are no other visible buyers, DISH has all the leverage in terms of price," he said. "We continue to believe DISH needs more satellite capacity and VOOM's satellite would be a way of addressing that issue."
Jeff Wlodarczak of Wachovia Capital Markets said Cablevision's decision to skip on the spin off is "most likely a precursor to an outright sale - or shuttering - of the asset, but it is also possible - although the odds are low - that Cablevision could elect to keep the asset in-house, or again change the nature of the spin."
Craig Moffett of Bernstein Research said expectations of a sale of VOOM, presumably to EchoStar, "will inevitably trigger speculation that a sale of the Rainbow networks is next."
Some on Wall Street have suggested a sale of the VOOM assets, which includes a satellite in orbit, could generate $250 million. Rainbow DBS also has five Ka-Band satellites on order with Lockheed Martin.
Link to report
With Spin Off Scrapped, What's Next for VOOM?
Now that Cablevision has scrapped plans to spin off VOOM and Rainbow DBS along with a handful of programming assets, Wall Street is speculating about what's next for the satellite TV platform.
In a short statement released via a Securities and Exchange Commission filing early Tuesday, Cablevision said its board of directors decided to suspend pursuing the spin-off of its Rainbow Media Enterprises subsidiary, including the VOOM/Rainbow DBS assets, and instead to pursue strategic alternatives for the DBS business.
Most on Wall Street cheered the Cablevision decision, and said they expect a sale of the VOOM/Rainbow DBS assets. And the No. 1 candidate for purchase of those satellite TV goods is EchoStar, some in the financial community said.
Tom Eagan of Oppenheimer and Co. said, "We think Cablevision has decided that the VOOM satellite TV platform does not have much of a future and that it should be sold. The likely buyer for the satellite (VOOM's Rainbow 1) is EchoStar as they need satellite transmission capacity for HDTV, and moreover, already have a satellite - which is actually wounded - at 61.5 degrees."
Richard Greenfield of Fulcrum Global Partners also agreed that the most likely buyer of the Rainbow DBS/VOOM assets is EchoStar. "Given our belief that there are no other visible buyers, DISH has all the leverage in terms of price," he said. "We continue to believe DISH needs more satellite capacity and VOOM's satellite would be a way of addressing that issue."
Jeff Wlodarczak of Wachovia Capital Markets said Cablevision's decision to skip on the spin off is "most likely a precursor to an outright sale - or shuttering - of the asset, but it is also possible - although the odds are low - that Cablevision could elect to keep the asset in-house, or again change the nature of the spin."
Craig Moffett of Bernstein Research said expectations of a sale of VOOM, presumably to EchoStar, "will inevitably trigger speculation that a sale of the Rainbow networks is next."
Some on Wall Street have suggested a sale of the VOOM assets, which includes a satellite in orbit, could generate $250 million. Rainbow DBS also has five Ka-Band satellites on order with Lockheed Martin.
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