Guggenheim Partners, the majority owners of the Los Angeles Dogers, is close to inking a deal to buy Dick Clark Productions, according to a report in The Los Angeles Times.
↵Guggenheim just recently purchased the Dodgers for more than $2 billion, and the price tag attached to Dick Clark Productions, according to the report, is roughly $385 million. To acquire Dick Clark Productions, Guggenheim outbid Ryan Seacrest, CBS, Core Media Group and private equity firm Colony Capital.
↵The $385 million price tag reportedly paid by Guggenheim is much more than the company is worth, according to the report.
↵↵↵"As was the case with the Dodgers deal, rival bidders are saying that the price Guggenheim is paying, if accurate, is out of whack with what the company is worth.
↵Privately held DCP doesn't disclose financial information, but industry executives familiar with the company estimated its annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) at between $35 million and $40 million, almost double from what it was prior to the Red Zone acquisition. The company also has about $165 million in debt and $18 million in cash.
↵The valuation that Guggenheim is placing on the company -- 10 times EBITDA -- had other potential suitors shaking their heads. They said a more reasonable price was between $250 million and $300 million.
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The Times reports that a formal announcement could be made as soon as next week.