Core Insights - Mercer, a business of Marsh McLennan, announced the recipients of the 2025 China Star Employers Awards at its Best Employers Summit [1] Group 1: Award Recipients - The recipients of the 2025 China Star Employers Awards include DBS Bank (China) Limited, Domino's Pizza (China), Ingersoll-Rand (China) Investment Company Limited, Shanghai Disney Resort, Starbucks China, and Universal Beijing [1]

Investment & Expansion - Sony's music and pictures units plan to invest approximately $460 million to acquire control of the company owning the Peanuts brand [1] - The acquisition aims to broaden the Tokyo-based group's content reach [1] Brand & Content - The target company houses the classic Peanuts brand, created by Charles M Schulz [1]

Who ends up with the assets of Warner Bros. is likely to impact the entertainment industry for decades to come. Here's what you need to know. https://t.co/R1XCGFHIAV ...

Core Viewpoint - The competitive landscape for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. is shifting, with Netflix Inc. emerging as the frontrunner over Paramount Skydance Corp. in the bidding process for the company [1]. Group 1: Stock Performance - Warner Bros. shares fell by 2.1% to close at $27.61, which is below Netflix's offer of $27.75 per share in cash and stock [2]. - The stock had previously traded as high as $30, reflecting investor optimism about potential bidding increases from both Netflix and Paramount, but has since dropped nearly 8% [3]. Group 2: Bidding Offers - Netflix's offer includes $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in Netflix stock per share, with the stock portion subject to a "collar" that adjusts based on Netflix's stock price at the time of closing [5]. - Paramount's all-cash bid of $30 per share includes Warner Bros.'s cable networks, which Netflix's offer does not cover [6]. Group 3: Regulatory Concerns - Both Netflix and Paramount's offers are expected to face antitrust scrutiny, leading to potentially lengthy regulatory reviews [4]. - Paramount claims a better chance of regulatory approval, while Warner Bros. believes both offers will be treated equally by regulators [4]. Group 4: Valuation of Assets - The valuation of Warner Bros.'s cable TV networks, which would be spun off in the Netflix deal, is debated, with Paramount suggesting a value of $1 per share, while analysts estimate it could be closer to $4 [6].

Max, any time we talk about a new sports entertainment complex, we got to talk about the financing for it. How much is the city putting into it. How much is going to be raised through debt.So the city is going to put in roughly $120 million. 50 million of that will come from debt. They funded the other portion of it through a tax incremental financing district.It's not the type is not located around the soccer stadium. It is an already existing TIF and then the rest of it is going to be funded by a one penn ...

Group 1 - Wall Street is optimistic about 2025, anticipating a surge in dealmaking, with a significant increase in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) this year [2] - A record 70 deals exceeding $10 billion each have been completed this year, contributing to a total M&A value of over $4.8 trillion, marking a 41% increase compared to 2024 [3] - The current year is the second-largest for M&A activity, only surpassed by 2021, which saw over $6 trillion in deals due to low interest rates and COVID stimulus [3] Group 2 - The M&A landscape is characterized by large-scale deals, with large-cap companies outperforming small-cap ones, as noted by JPMorgan's head of advisory and M&A [4] - There have been four deals worth over $50 billion this year, including two offers for Warner Bros. Discovery from Netflix and Paramount, valued at $82 billion and $108 billion respectively [4] - The banking sector has experienced a significant increase in mergers, with U.S. regulators approving combinations at the fastest rate in over 30 years, reducing the average deal finalization time to four months [5][6] Group 3 - The expedited approval process is addressing challenges faced by dealmakers in consolidating over 4,000 regional banks in the U.S., with recent deals exceeding a combined value of $24 billion [6] - Nearly 150 bank mergers worth around $45 billion had been completed by November, positioning this year as the busiest for bank deals since 2021 [6]

As 202025 comes to a close, CNBC's Alex Sherman spoke with 16 top executives across media, sports, and entertainment, who made some pretty bold industry predictions for 2026. Joining us right now with some of those calls is Alex Sherman, CNBC's media and sports reporter. I always love when you do this.So, what would you say is the most provocative, outrageous, over-the-top thing that could actually come true. >> Yeah. So, look, these people that I speak to, these are top of the food chain executives.So, it' ...

Core Points - The Academy Awards will transition from ABC to YouTube for streaming starting in 2029, with ABC continuing to broadcast until 2028, marking the 100th Oscars [1][4] - YouTube will hold global streaming rights for the Oscars from 2029 to 2033, including all related events such as red-carpet coverage and nominations announcements [2][3] - This partnership is seen as a significant move for the Academy, aiming to reach a larger global audience and enhance accessibility for Academy members and the film community [3][5] Industry Impact - The deal represents the first major award show among the big four (Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, Tonys) to completely move away from traditional broadcast television, placing the Oscars in the hands of Google and YouTube, which has around 2 billion viewers [3][5] - The Oscars will be available for free streaming worldwide on YouTube, with additional features like multilingual audio tracks and closed captioning, enhancing viewer engagement [4][5] - YouTube's significant market share in streaming, accounting for 12.9% of all television and streaming content consumed in November, positions it as a leading platform for reaching younger audiences compared to competitors like Netflix [7]

Company Overview - Elliott Investment Management has acquired a stake exceeding $1 billion in lululemon Athletica (LULU), making it one of the company's largest shareholders [3][4]. - lululemon's current market value is approximately $25 billion [5]. Leadership Changes - Elliott is advocating for leadership changes at lululemon, including proposing Jane Nielsen, a former CFO and COO at Ralph Lauren, as a potential new CEO [4]. - The current CEO is set to exit in January 2026, following criticism regarding product execution and market share losses to competitors like Alo Yoga, alongside a 60% decline in share price from its peak [4]. Market Reaction - Following the news of Elliott's investment, lululemon's shares rose by 4% in premarket trading [5].

李智表示，未来"数字文娱+AI"的发展存在六大趋势。首先，创作民主化与"超级创作者"崛起，专业创 作的门槛被打破，"一人团队"即可完成过去需要多人协作的项目。其次，AI将重构IP生态，核心竞争力 转向规则定义与生态运营，IP持有者的核心竞争力将从控制内容转向定义规则、运营生态和驾驭AI工 具。其三，AI驱动的内容体验将实现升维，进一步朝向可感知、可共情的沉浸生态发展。其四，AI还 将驱动文娱文旅商业模式升级，从供给驱动型内容生产向需求即时共创的情感生态服务跃迁。其五，文 旅产业边界将消弭，"以文塑旅，以旅彰文"成为主线，如AI用于文物修复、数字存档和创造性转化。其 六，随着文娱+AI的爆发，监管和伦理问题日益将凸显，需构建相关治理体系推动科技向善发展。 李智表示，广州市天河区是我国数字文娱与AI深度融合的"核心引擎"。2024年，天河区数字创意产业营 收达2266.6亿元，占广州市37.5%，集聚网易、三七互娱等头部企业，成为全国数字文娱产业高地。未 来，随着元宇宙、AIGC等技术的深度应用，天河有望成为全球文娱产业创新策源地。 文娱产业为什么需要AI技术？12月18日，2025年中国数字文娱大会上，北京易观 ...