Food for thought

In case you were getting too bullish about the prospect of a Comcast buyout of Disney, Variety magazine (Feb.16-22, p.67) throws some cold water on the idea:

A hefty 34% of Disney’s operating income is derived from its Theme Parks & Resorts division, a business which is struggling against a range of cyclical economic woes. Theme Parks is slated to eat up nearly 70% of Disney’s total capital expenditure ($900 million) next year. And Comcast has no expertise in this area.

The Disney retail stores have been on the sales block for some time, with no potential buyer identified. Plus Disney just lost its deal with Pixar, the source of its big animated hits, and much of Disney’s income comes from overseas. Comcast has virtually no experience in the international arena. Well, there is always ESPN…