Mergers come to sectors in waves and now its media's turn.
There are many companies that would be of interest to either public or private buyers including Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI), E.W. Scripps Co. (NYSE: SSP) and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (NYSE: MSO).
Shares of Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher, have tanked more than 20% over the past five years as advertisers fled to the Internet. The company, though, has a solid management team that has made many accretive acquisitions.
Scripps has long been a favorite on Wall Street. The company's cable business, which includes the Food Network and HGTV, is great and its newspaper business is no worse off than others, which I realize is faint praise. Its shares are down 13% this year.
Martha Stewart Living, whose shares have plunged 15% this year, has defied the skeptics.
Even though the company recently said its first quarter loss widened, the results did beat Wall Street expectations. Chief Executive Susan Lyne has done a good job in expanding the Stewart brand. The recent prepared food deal with Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) seems to have potential.
Other targets include The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT), which I've argued before, satellite radio companies XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (NYSE: XMSR) and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) and Belo Corp. (NYSE: BLC), which owns the Dallas Morning News along television and radio stations.
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