Google Inc’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) YouTube and its reported slowdown in terms of revenue is not affecting demand for mergers and acquisitions, Paul Sweeney said in a recent discussion on Bloomberg.
The comment comes from Sweeney who is with Bloomberg Industries as a report published by The Information and penned by Amir Efrati, a veteran observer of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), revealed that YouTube has not grown as much as some analysts may think revenue-wise. According to Efrati who used to be a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, two sources have said that YouTube’s gross advertising revenue was about $3.5 billion last year and $1.5 billion net after content producers’ shares have been deducted.
Sweeney was discussing whether this less than optimistic view of revenue for the Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) property may signal that interested parties in properties connected to YouTube, like content and distribution studios, may be taking a harder look at whether to invest or not. According to him, this may not be the case. He explained:
“It doesn’t appear to [signify a slowdown in mergers and acquisitions of YouTube-linked properties]. We’ve had a lot of M&A activity in this space. We’ve have a lot of traditional media players really take a look at the YouTube business and really say, ‘We want to have a presence on YouTube with professionally-produced content.’”
Sweeney pointed out that most recently and most notably, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) acquired Maker Studios, Inc., billed to be the biggest YouTube content network. The Disney acquisition can be as much as over $1 billion if Maker Studios reach certain milestones outlined in the deal.
According to Sweeney, there are other M&A activity connected to the Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) property as traditional media companies recognize that people are flocking to the online space for video consumption.
Watch the interview below.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shareholders includes Falcon Edge Capital managed by Richard Gerson and Navroz D. Udwadia. The hedge fund reported 58,900 shares in the company by the end of March. Another shareholder is David Gallo’s Valinor Management Llc which reported 57,565 shares in the same period.
Disclosure: None
