So even though Comcast’s buyout of online movie ticketing service Fandango did not cross the threshold of being significant enough that the cable behemoth would have to disclose it in SEC filings, some of Fandango’s shareholders couldn’t resist themselves. AMC Entertainment, the movie theater chain, disclosed some information in an 8-K filing late last week.
The filing said that AMC owned about 8.4 percent of Fandango’s common stock on an as-converted basis as of December 28, 2006. It further said: “In connection with the transaction, we will receive an equity earn up which will raise our interest in Fandango to approximately 10.4% of the outstanding common stock on an as converted basis immediately prior to the sale of our shares. Pursuant to the terms of the Fandango Merger Agreement and subject to certain closing adjustments, we estimate that we will receive approximately $20.0 million in cash consideration in connection with the sale of our interest in Fandango during the first quarter of fiscal 2008. Our investment in Fandango is currently recorded at $2.0 million.”
Based on this, Fandango’s sale price is around $192.3 million, though the valuation may not have been this simple. There might have been be certain liquidation preferences that give the shareholders cash without counting, technically, as more equity interest, someone financially more experienced than me explained it to me.
So there you go: around the $192 million-$200 million range, something some other analysts had estimated. The company has at least $50 million plus pumped into it in venture capital.