MUMBAI: After its negotiations with Weisteins and its investor Ron Burkle were called off, Disney is set to renew talks with the Gores Brothers for the acquisition of Miramax.
The Gores had reportedly bid around $600 million for Miramax, but the amount was below the $625 million offered by the Weinstein/Burkle group and the $650 million bid by Pangea Group CEO David Bergstein.
Regarding the Weinstein talks, Burkle apparently decided that $ 625 million was too high and asked for a reduction. That‘s when talks broke down and Disney, which sought $700 million for Miramax called off the exclusive negotiating period.
Meanwhile, the Gores also are moving ahead with a bid of about $ 300 to acquire Overture Films and its related assets including the Anchor Bay home entertainment arm and animation companies, from Liberty Media.
The Gores‘ vision is to use the Overture management, pay TV slots, home video and other distribution capability to launch a company that could hit the ground running and maximise the value of the Miramax assets.
One reason the Weinsteins‘ backers believe they aren‘t done with Miramax is that whoever buys it will have to deal with Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who retained certain rights when they sold the company to Disney.
