Trades of Disney stock halted on the NYSE! (Note: Disney stock is active, 11 Feb)

[God luvs America]

Word is Eisner is out and Comcast is trying to buy the company. Thank God!!

[stainlessbanner]

bttt

[Just mythoughts]

FOR REAL? THE GAYS HAVE GOTTTTAAAA GO!

[OXENinFLA]

Whoa!

[OXENinFLA]

What is Their stock symbol?

[babyface00]

Please excuse my ignorance, but is halting trade on a single stock an unusual occurrence on the NYSE? What does it take (from either the company or the exchange) to initiate this?

[AppyPappy]

http://media.guardian.co.uk/city/story/0,7497,1145769,00.html

[Constitution Day]

I know we say it all the time, but:

This really is HUGH and SERIES.

[CFW]

Comcast proposes to buy Walt Disney in a stock deal valued at about $54 billion

SKIP WOLLENBERG
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK — In a surprise move, cable TV giant Comcast Corp. proposed early Wednesday to buy Walt Disney Co., the iconic media and entertainment powerhouse that owns the ABC and ESPN television networks, movie studios and theme parks, for stock valued at about $54 billion.

The nation's biggest cable systems operator said it would also assume $11.9 billion in Disney debt.

Comcast's stunning proposal was made even as Disney boss Michael Eisner is fending off criticism from former board members Roy E. Disney, the nephew of Disney founder Walt Disney, and Stanley E. Gold about his performance and lack of a succession plan as Disney's chief executive.

Comcast said Eisner declined earlier this week to discuss a possible merger.

"This is a unique opportunity for all shareholders of Comcast and Disney to create a new leader of the entertainment and communications industry," said Comcast president and chief executive Brian L. Roberts said in a statement.

Calls to Disney representatives Zenia Mucha, Michelle Bergman and John Spelich were not immediately returned early Wednesday. Michael Citrick, spokesman for Disney and Gold, said they had no immediate comment.

Comcast also released a letter sent to Eisner indicating that Eisner had personally rejected Roberts' offer to enter into discussions about a merger earlier in the week.

The letter from Roberts called it "unfortunate" that Eisner was not willing to enter into discussions. "Given this, the only way for us to proceed is to make a public proposal directly to you and your board," the letter stated.

Under the merger, Comcast said it would issue 0.78 of a share of its stock for each Disney share, and Disney shareholders would retain 42 percent of the combined company.

The deal values each Disney share at $25.69, a 7 percent premium over their closing price Tuesday, or more than $5 billion total. Comcast shares ended trading Tuesday at $32.94; Disney shares finished at $24.08.

Philadelphia-based Comcast merged with AT&T Broadband in November 2002, and the company noted that merger in its sales pitch Wednesday.

"Our management team has a proven track record of successful integration of our merger partners," Roberts said.

Comcast has more than 21 million total cable television subscribers in 35 states and the District of Columbia. In October, the company reported net income of $3.18 billion and stronger-than-expected demand for premium services including high-speed Internet access. It has not yet released its results for the most recent quarter.

[Leroy S. Mort]

Comcast Proposes to Buy Walt Disney

NEW YORK (AP) - In a surprise move, cable TV giant Comcast Corp. proposed early Wednesday to buy Walt Disney Co., the iconic media and entertainment powerhouse that owns the ABC and ESPN television networks, movie studios and theme parks, for stock valued at about $54 billion.

The nation's biggest cable systems operator said it would also assume $11.9 billion in Disney debt to push the total value of the deal to $66 billion.

Comcast's stunning proposal was made even as Disney boss Michael Eisner is fending off criticism from former board members Roy E. Disney, the nephew of Disney founder Walt Disney, and Stanley E. Gold about his performance and lack of a succession plan as Disney's chief executive.

Comcast said Eisner declined earlier this week to discuss a possible merger.

``This is a unique opportunity for all shareholders of Comcast and Disney to create a new leader of the entertainment and communications industry,'' said Comcast president and chief executive Brian L. Roberts said in a statement.

Calls to Disney representatives Zenia Mucha, Michelle Bergman and John Spelich were not immediately returned early Wednesday. Michael Citrick, spokesman for Disney and Gold, said they had no immediate comment.

Comcast also released a letter sent to Eisner indicating that Eisner had personally rejected Roberts' offer to enter into discussions about a merger earlier in the week.

The letter from Roberts called it ``unfortunate'' that Eisner was not willing to enter into discussions. ``Given this, the only way for us to proceed is to make a public proposal directly to you and your board,'' the letter stated.

Under the merger, Comcast said it would issue 0.78 of a share of its stock for each Disney share, and Disney shareholders would retain 42 percent of the combined company. The deal would give Disney shareholders a premium of more than $5 billion, based on Tuesday closing stock prices.

Philadelphia-based Comcast merged with AT&T Broadband last November, and the company noted that merger in its sales pitch Wednesday.

``Our management team has a proven track record of successful integration of our merger partners,'' Roberts said.

Comcast has more than 21 million total cable television subscribers in 35 states and the District of Columbia. In October, the company reported net income of $3.18 billion and stronger-than-expected demand for premium services including high-speed Internet access. It has not yet released its results for the most recent quarter.

[newgeezer]

For what it's worth (pun intended), ABC News a couple hours ago was reporting the deal would be worth $66 billion.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Will Comcast be an improvement over Eisner? Just asking as I don't know much about their senior management or corporate philosophy.

[BlazingArizona]

Please excuse my ignorance, but is halting trade on a single stock an unusual occurrence on the NYSE? What does it take (from either the company or the exchange) to initiate this?

A trading halt is called whenever major news about a company could cause 'discontinuous' pricing caused by panic selling or buying. On Sept. 11, trading in all issues was halted for a week.

[wtc911]

Any kind of news, legal or takeover type that might cause the stock to spin out of control hurting the individual investor could cause the SEC to step in and temporarily halt trading.

[babyface00]

Thank you both.

[Xenalyte]

NYSE: DIS

[Doctor Stochastic]

Not unusual. It just means a large imbalance between buy and sell orders.

[Cboldt]

Halted just because the CEO is ousted? Must be some serious changes in price to halt trading, yes?

[Snowy]

Excuse my ignorance, but would the stock price of Disney likely be going up or going down?