Forum - View topicNEWS: Navarre Has 6 Interested Buyers for Funimation
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16941 |
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Bingo. I was in the midst of typing a similar response but there's no need now. Routinely for many quarters/years now Navarre has had profit losses while Funi keeps making money. Sure not as much as before I bet given the state of things but they are still making a profit. Perhaps one of the only anime companies over here to actually make a profit. The reality is beyond owning Funi Navarre and Funi have little in common. If Navarre can make some money off of the sale of Funi and help themselves refocus on what they are supposed to be about why not go for it? One could also specualte Navarre might think Funi won't be making profit soon and that the anime market will collapse further so they want to sell now. That's just speculation though. |
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HuskofDaimao
Posts: 39 |
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This is good news. Hopefully a new owner will know the route to take DBZ now.
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Drunk_Samurai
Posts: 133 |
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Just because Disney might buy them doesn't mean more series would come over. |
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CareyGrant
Posts: 453 |
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I'd totally mess myself with a nerdgasm if it were someone like John Lasseter from Pixar, but at this point only those involved know for sure.
I will say, there is much that can go wrong and anime fans are an insanely fickle bunch, besides being damned near impossible to please (See: "no dub, no buy" to "alternate closing credits from Japanese original, no buy" to "can't switch audio tracks during playback, no buy" to "we didn't get every last second of animation *exactly* as the Japanese got it, no buy," to... you get the idea.). Whomever buys Funi I hope they have A) deep pockets B) Connections C) the good sense NOT to mess up what's going right for Funi D) DO NOT alienate the niche market that is the American Anime Fan by f-ing with the last powerhouse Dubbing house in the US E) have a desire to see Anime in the West grow. |
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TJR
Posts: 223 |
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Yep. There's also the chance that new ownership might promise one thing before a sale and then pull a 180 once the deal is complete. The rule of thumb is that in any ownership relationship, the subsidiary is at the mercy of the parent. |
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TJR
Posts: 223 |
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I think Funimation itself is looking to change. The niche simply isn't ambitious enough (the big question is how they'll treat the niche market if they break into the mass market), and they now want to sink millions into original projects aimed at a mainstream American audience. Nevarre's desire to sell (while Funimation is still profitable) has a lot to do with the risky business outlook. |
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FLCLGainax
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Maybe those aspects could improve if Disney bought them, but I fear they would also meddle with the production side of things as well. This is judging from back when they owned Miramax and didn't allow them to release NC-17 rated movies, based on maintaining their "family-friendly" image. And this was at a time when NC-17 movies were considered profitable (pre-1995). If Disney ends up buying them, it could negatively impact future licensing decisions on risque or edgy titles. It may also determine whether Funimation keeps their word on releasing "Dance in the Vampire Bund" uncut. Disney would be the last company I'd want being their corporate parent. |
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agila61
 Posts: 3213 Location: NE Ohio |
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... and Navarre needs to get into the smartphone apps market somehow, when now is a terrible time to be seeking external finance for a entrepreneurial new venture. If they can find a buyer with synergies with Funimation's new direction, they'll get more in the sale than they would have borrowing against Funimations future earnings, and be less leveraged to boot. |
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dbzliveaction
Posts: 9 |
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Second time that is mentioned, Navarre doesnt' want to get into the smartphone market?? |
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agila61
Posts: 3213 Location: NE Ohio |
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They either do or do not want to focus on software. If they want to focus on software, and given that they won't be competing against Microsoft Office or SAP, they need to get into the smartphone apps market somehow. That's where their current segments are going. |
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dbzliveaction
Posts: 9 |
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navarre is involved in physical distribution of software. there is no physical distribution of smartphone apps that you download onto your phone. |
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belisarius
Posts: 203 Location: Concord, NC |
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You could all save yourselves a lot of time and speculation by going here http://www.navarre.com/Investors/default.htm and clicking on Annual Report. They'll tell you all about why they want to spin off Funimation and what they'd like to get into in their 10K.
@Agila61, Fire sale highly unlikely, current ratio and debt to asset ratios look fine. My guess is they're looking to sell the company for cash to finance digital distribution, along the lines of Agila has suggested. Credit is still hard to come by. |
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agila61
Posts: 3213 Location: NE Ohio |
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And Navarre can either close up shop when there is no more money to be made from physical distribution of software, or it can have positioned itself to outlive the physical distribution of software. |
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dbzliveaction
Posts: 9 |
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hmmmm, didn't save me time, dude thats HUGE!!! dont see them saying what they want to invest in?
excuse my ignorance but wouldnt the content publisher not do the digital distribution? why would they give it to and pay someone else to do that?? |
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agila61
Posts: 3213 Location: NE Ohio |
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That's exactly what I said ~ its far less threatening for a division to be sold as Navarre to be selling Funimation, when they are in a position to turn down offers if they are unattractive, than for a division to be sold in a fire sale. Obviously you are not saying the Annual Report demonstrates there's no future risk of that ever happening. That's why they have to say something like "past performance is no guarantee of future returns" whenever saying something that could be construed as information for potential investors ... I've seen GM go from being the largest company on the face of the planet by capital valuation to the brink of bankruptcy, I've seen the age of "nobody gets fired for buying IBM" come and go, nobody would seriously suggest that there are no combinations of forces that can shake a mid-tier software distributor in the coming five to ten years. |
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