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Microcap & Penny Stocks : GBFE - GOLDEN BOOKS FAMILY ENTMT INC -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: * Thumper * who wrote (164)	1/15/1999 3:01:00 AM
From: Ben Geh	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 476

Golden Books Surges After Disney Says It Could Buy (Update3) Bloomberg News January 14, 1999, 2:43 p.m. PT Golden Books Surges After Disney Says It Could Buy (Update3) (Updates share prices.) New York, Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Golden Books Family Entertainment Inc. more than doubled after Walt Disney Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Eisner said the company may buy the struggling children's book publisher. Golden Books shares rose 1 7/32 to 1 31/32 in trading of 27.5 million, making the stock the most active in U.S. markets. Disney, the world's No. 2 entertainment company has ''had talks'' with Golden Books and it's possible Disney could purchase the publisher of children's titles such as Pat the Bunny and The Poky Little Puppy, Disney's Eisner told Bloomberg News Tuesday. He didn't elaborate on the talks or the likelihood of an deal. A purchase would allow Disney, which is already the biggest generator of licensing agreement revenue for Golden Books, to acquire the popular brand name while gaining greater control of that revenue, an analyst said. ''It would be pretty easy for Disney to turn that around,'' said Sean Egan, managing director of Egan-Jones Ratings Co. Golden Books had a loss of $18.9 million, or 71 cents a share in the third quarter, on revenue of $52 million. Golden Books' shares have slumped about 84 percent in the past year. Some Discussions Yet, Golden Books Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Snyder said today that the company's hasn't talked with Disney about a possible sale. The company has had ''some discussions with Disney about expanding their relationship, but not from an equity point of view.'' In August, New York-based Golden Books said it had hired investment bank Allen & Co. to explore options, including a possible sale. Under the current licensing agreement, Golden Books produces books based on Disney characters and story lines. Disney officials today declined to comment on speculation. Snyder declined to comment on any other possible acquisition talks. Egan estimates Golden would fetch about $350 million in a sale, assuming the acquirer included the face value of the company's $300 million in debt. It makes sense for Disney to show interest now that media executive and former Golden Books investor Barry Diller is out of the picture, Egan said. Late last year, Diller resigned from the company's board and dumped his stake. ''Before, Eisner would have had to bid against Diller and probably wasn't worth it,'' Egan said. Disney, based in Burbank, California, fell 1/16 to 36 1/16. --Kim Chipman in the New York newsroom (212) 318-2300