UAE firm buys 109 MILLION shares of Time Warner (CNN)

[Bluebear]

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Business_News&subsection=market+news&month=February2006&file=Business_News2006021874843.xml

UAE firm takes stake in Time Warner, hires Icahn
Web posted at: 2/18/2006 7:48:43
Source ::: Reuters

WASHINGTON: United Arab Emirates-based media investment company Istithmar controls 2.39 per cent of Time Warner Inc's stock and has hired one of Carl Icahn's entities as its advisor, the firm disclosed in a US regulatory filing on Thursday.

The Dubai investment firm acquired the stake in January through $2bn in participation notes issued by UBS AG.

The notes give Istithmar effective control of more than 109 million Time Warner shares, according to the company's filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

[Walt Starr]

1. Nationalize it

The U.S. government can take every last share and nationalize them.

[Eric J in MN]

18. You want Time Warner to be owned by the US govt?

nt

[librechik]

2. hey--shutting up Lou Dobbs just got a little easier n/t

[Bluebear]

4. Precisely.

He'll be 'resigning to spend more time with his family' any day now.

[converted_democrat]

6. It just never stops..n/t

[AndyA]

3. Nice. The selling of America to the highest bidder continues... n/m

[txindy]

5. Are they state-owned, though?

:shrug: If not, maybe they're state-influenced.

[Tempest]

7. Next up on CNN...

Why turning over America's ports to the United Arab Emirates makes sense for all Americans.

[skylarmae]

8. Time Warner owns CNN - wonder how long before they shut up LOU DOBBS?

Now I'm so glad I canceled TIME after they ran Mann Coulter on the cover (subscribed for more than 20 yrs)...

[txindy]

12. That's when I let my subscription go, too.

That issue arrived in my mailbox and, after decades of subscribing, that was the very end.

[AntiFascist]

14. Weren't you watching Lou Dobbs today?

Some UAE delegation said: "they won't shut up Lou Dobbs!" Obviously they feel that corporate control should trump free speech.

[hopeisaplace]

25. lol, today he lead off with Dubai officials saying "Shut Lou Dobbs Up"

:popcorn:
it sure was a popcorn moment for me..oh my.

[htuttle]

9. Somebody set up us the bomb!

Good catch.

[spuddonna]

10. Whoa...

Now, why would they do that? Wait, what's that at the bottom of the cnn webpage?

© 2006 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.

Nevermind...

[katty]

11. it's been a Bizzzzeeee Week for UAE

[Bluebear]

13. All the starts are aligning for them!

Must be a coincidence. Yeah, a coincidence.

[NewJeffCT]

15. Icahn just gave up his quest to take over Time Warner

I think it was in yesterday's Wall St. Journal.... he has at least temporarily given up that quest.

[mac56]

16. 2.39% ?

Is that enough of an ownership bloc to dictate policy?

Sincere question. I honestly have no idea.

[htuttle]

17. Good Question

I think it would depend on who and how the rest of the stock ownership is distributed.

For example, if the rest of Time Warner stock was primarily owned by two stockholders, each owning something like 48%, owning the 2% that were 'swing shares' could end up being enough to dictate policy. Especially if the other two owners were usually opposed on things.

But I'm pretty sure that Time Warner stock ownership is somewhat more widespread than that (probably a lot of institutional investors, for example).

[walldude]

23. It does state in the OP that they hired an advisor

which makes me think that they expect to have some say.

[Rosco T.]

26. No. n/m

[Emit]

19. Istithmar & Robert M. Bass bought Manhattan building last year

I would imagine that with the wealth of the UAE, it owns/buys a lot of property. I found this purchase interesting because of the Bass connection (he's one of the Bass brothers who bailed out Bush with the Harken deal). Was posted last night, but this is a better source.

Istithmar of the UAE closes on the $705 million acquisition of 230 Park Avenue in Manhattan in New York City

Thursday, 10 November 2005
Istithmar PJSC, a leading investment house based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), focusing on private equity, real estate and alternative investments, has announced today that it has closed on the acquisition of another internationally recognized landmark property, 230 Park Avenue (the Helmsley Building) in Manhattan. The property was purchased for $705 million from 230 Park Avenue Investors, LLC, of which Robert M. Bass of Fort Worth, Texas is a lead investor. The purchase of the New York City trophy property follows on the heels of Istithmar’s acquisition of London, the UK’s One Trafalgar Square last month.

230 Park Avenue is a 34-story gold-domed office tower, in excess of 1.2 million square feet straddling Park Avenue at 45th Street. Built in 1929, 230 Park Avenue is one of two buildings that combine a direct connection to Grand Central Terminal with the prestige of a Park Avenue address.
Istithmar’s Executive Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem commented, “We believe 230 Park Avenue is an irreplaceable prime property in the world’s largest real estate market. This particular investment represents the perfect fit for us as we continue to add outstanding assets to our expanding international real estate portfolio.”

“The Jewel of Park Avenue,” as it is often referred to, is surrounded by many of New York’s finest hotels, restaurants and social clubs. Many multinational corporations have also made Park Avenue the hub of their global operations. 230 Park Avenue is a particularly attractive corporate location as evidenced by its impressive roster of tenants including ING Baring, Tokio Marine, HSH Nordbank, Bank of Argentina, and PB Capital.
Financing for the acquisition of 230 Park Avenue is being provided by Credit Suisse First Boston. Istithmar is being advised on the transaction by Island Capital, a real estate focused firm headed by Andrew L. Farkas.

http://www.usrom.com/Countries/uae.htm

[dusty64]

20. Interesting.

x

[TruthStream_dot_org]

21. EMAIL JACK!!!!!

Everyone! Email this link to Jack Caferty

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/situation.room/

[walldude]

22. A link to a list of Time Warner Owned Companies

http://www.cjr.org/tools/owners/timewarner.asp

It's amazing how much of what we read, see and hear comes from Time Warner...

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

24. Interesting in that UAE just refused to interview on Lou Dobbs and

complained that he could not be shut up! I guess they can shut him up if they buy enough stock. Great - then they can own our ports and our media.