Why Private Equity Is Paying Premiums to Take Publicly-Listed Media Companies Private

A consortium of private equity giants recently undertook history’s largest leveraged buyout of a public company. It wasn’t a bank, oil or pharma. It was Media & Entertainment. 

The video game publisher, Electronic Arts (EA), listed on NASDAQ in March, 1990 at a price of US$0.52 a share with market capital of approximately US$84 million. Over time, the company became one of the biggest gaming publishers in the business. 

The most successful Media & Entertainment companies have long relied on the public stock markets to maintain stamina. Studios, publishers, broadcasters and game developers have historically listed their shares for a combination of prestige...