Monday, June 26, 2006

Michael Eisner Keeps Moving...and Investing

Michael Eisner, former Disney topkick, isn't letting the grass grow under his feet.... In April, he threw in with Time-Warner on some venture capital investments. And now, per the Wall Street Journal, he's making another investment move: Eisner's Venture Firm to Acquire Team Baby Production Company Tornante Co., the venture-capital firm started by Walt Disney Co. former Chief Executive Office Michael Eisner, will announce today that it has acquired Team Baby Entertainment, a production company that makes college sports-themed DVDs for infants and toddlers. The investment, terms of which weren't disclosed, puts Mr. Eisner back in the family-entertainment arena he was so closely associated with until leaving Disney last year... Tornante was formed last year and invests in media and entertainment related ventures, including the Veoh Networks, Inc., a San Diego company that delivers video and television content over the internet... -- WSJ, June 26, 2006 It seems to us that Mr. Eisner is getting into internet firms in a way similar to his old boss, Barry Diller. Good to know he's putting his fortune to work in new and productive ways.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Smart move, Michael. I'd do the same thing -- if I only had a fortune.

Anonymous said...

don't you see the cross over...both involve belching and farting!

Kevin Koch said...

LOL! I had the same reaction as Michael C. I guess it's DVDs for sports fanatics who want to make sure and brainwash their kids early to have the same preferences. Weird.

On a related note, I tried to watch Eisner's talk show last night. I say 'talk show' instead of 'interview show' because the purpose seemed to be for Eisner to hear himself talk. I didn't last long. I turned the channel after I got bored listening to a rambling two-minute preamble to what I suppose would eventually become a question (during which the guest, Pat Robertson, had to sit and grin like an idiot, seeming to wonder if Michael would ever get to the point). It was excruciating.

I flipped back later and caught Michael patting himself on the back with Whoopi Goldberg. Somehow the couple of "questions" he asked seemed to be little stories about himself and his involvement in her career. Simply fascinating. Not.

It was like a cable access show with well-known people and higher production values.

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