Gore TV Deal Is Stalled At The 11th Hour; Major Investor Pulls Out

New York Observer ^ | 4/2/04 | Joe Hagan

[rattrap]

The Observer has learned that the deal for former Vice President Al Gore and his business partner Joel Hyatt to acquire digital-cable channel Newsworld International (NWI) has hit a major obstacle and may have fallen through in the 11th hour of negotiations.

Sources familiar with the situation said that one of Mr. Gore's crucial investors got cold feet in the last stage of the deal and that Mr. Gore's group and the channel's owner, Vivendi Universal Entertainment, could not agree on a price.

Mr. Gore's group was said to be paying around $70 million for Newsworld.

Reached for comment, and asked if the deal had died, Mr. Hyatt initially said, "No," but then added, "No comment. It's always been no comment. We never talked about this deal, never. When we're at liberty to talk, I very much look forward do doing so."

A spokeswoman for Vivendi Universal said, "Things are still in flux, but it hasn't been officially declared over."

Sources close to Mr. Gore told The Observer that the capital raised by Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt had come from dozens of investors, with a mix of individual, venture capital and investment banking money. It is not clear which investor pulled out of the deal.

If the deal should fall apart completely, NWI would become part of the Universal Entertainment properties currently being sold to NBC, sources said. It's not clear if NBC would be interested in a digital cable property, especially considering that it already owns news channels MSNBC and CNBC.

It could still be possible, in theory, for NBC to sell Newsworld to Mr. Gore 's group once its own deal is cleared. Spokespersons for NBC could not be reached for comment.

NWI has carriage in about 20 million homes, and packages "foreign newscasts originally broadcast in countries such as Germany, Japan, Canada and the European community," according to its Web site. Mr. Gore's group has had plans of transforming the channel into a 24-hour news, documentary and public-affairs channel geared toward kids in their 20's.

The deal for Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt to buy Newsworld International has been nearly a year in the making. It was initially stalled in the fall of 2003 by Vivendi Universal's sale of its cable assets to NBC. Later, Barry Diller, former Newsworld owner and chief executive of InterActive Corp., held up the deal while he resolved his own ownership issues. A source close to Mr. Diller told the Observer that Mr. Diller had cleared the way for Mr. Gore to acquire the company about three weeks ago.

[Guillermo]

When did Al Gore get over 50% of the vote?

[Loyal Buckeye]

"Al Gore and his business partner Joel Hyatt..."

And who might Joel Hyatt be, you might ask. Try Howard Metzenbaum's son-in-law.

[ARA]

I thought the same thing... Liberal radio is going to fail big time and frankly Americans aren't are far left as the leading liberals are...

[Qwinn]

*nod* I thought the same thing. Hardly far-fetched... if I bet the milk money on a liberal TV station, and then saw liberal radio fall flat on it's face, I'd be running like mad too.

Qwinn

[GreenHornet]

In a new development, Gore is now claiming that, due to the confusing acquisition process, Newsworld International was inadverntently sold to Pat Buchanan.

[Guillermo]

Democrats survive only because they are able to mobilize thousands of buses to roam the ghettos on election day begging know-nothing registered voters to vote Democrat.

[HitmanLV]

Cool. She would be a good choice though I am sure Gore & co don't want a hot blooded Cubana telling the truth about Castro, Communism, etc.

I think she was moderately vocal during the Elian Gonzales affair, though the most high profile Cuban-American celebrity was Andy Garcia. I don't think Daisy's conservative bent is very well known, though. When i met her I didn't expect it (wrongly figuring that almost everybody in entertainment must be hopelessly leftist) and I was pleased by that news!

Daisy gets my vote, though!

[sarasmom]

Your question is also your answer.

Nobody can explain that.
Did it really happen?
Would any thinking person today really believe it actually happened?
Or was it just a media lie that became a truth?

[The Mayor]

Bump!

[A CA Guy]

I think hearing how flat liberal radio was this weekend, made some investors who cared about their money really worried that they would never see any of it again and they bailed! Smart Move.

[expatpat]

....may have fallen through in the 11th hour of negotiations.

Excuse me while I leave the computer to cry for an hour or so.

[BossLady]

Now that I think about it....She is probably too calente for anything Gore would have on his station...hahaha. (I bet she could kick his metrosexual a$$!)

[HitmanLV]

Caliente is the word! She can kick my macho (but good natured and in the hands of the right woman, obedient) Italian-American male a$$ anytime! Haha, I would only provide a token 'struggle.'

How did my friend Beetlejuice say it, "I'm feeling alll ANXIOUS now."

Haha! ;-)

[Libloather]

...one of Mr. Gore's crucial investors got cold feet...

I'm sure it had nothing to do with knowing just how much the product would suck...

[BossLady]

OMG...I can hear it now...oh please stop....no.....ok.....I give..... ;)

"I'm feeling alll ANXIOUS now."

These immoral...er um....immortal words come to mind....'Put some ice on it'

[clintonh8r]

He invented cable, you know....

[Howlin]

"Pity."

[HitmanLV]

Hahah! Ice would slow me down for sure!!!

Then, after being 'iced' I would follow the Beetlejuice quote with the immortal excuse by one of my heroes in all of fiction, George Costanza. "There was....significant shrinkage!!!!"

Haha!

[Peach]

So his funding source has gotten cold feet. How French of them. Cut and run at the first sign of trouble.

[Peach]

I told you he had foreign support for this venture:

Vivendi Universal develops the following activities:

Canal+ Group
Canal+ Group (a 100% Vivendi Universal subsidiary) is a major European player in the production and distribution of pay-TV channels and interactive services, the production and distribution of film and television programs and the marketing of sports rights.

SFR-Cegetel Group
SFR-Cegetel Group (a 56% Vivendi Universal subsidiary) is the France's second telecommunications operator and the only private French operator covering all telecommunications activities: mobile telephony through SFR and fixed-line telephony and the Internet through Cegetel.