Analyst Has Doubts on Time Warner Rumors

While Time Warner shares have been rising the past few days, one top analyst isn't putting much stock in the rumors behind the rally.

There have been reports that investor Carl Icahn is again accumulating Time Warner stock. There was also a story about Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes telling investors that he was opposed to the idea of spinning off HBO but could be open to the sale of the entire company.

Wells Fargo's Marci Ryvicker says it all looks like poppycock.

"We don't believe the speculation. Another day, another unsubstantiated article on the potential sale of Time Warner," said in a note Wednesday.

"We don't think there is any truth to this. We have been asked for our sum-of-the-parts for TWX but honestly, it's just math – it doesn't really matter," she said.

Ryvicker went on to say she didn't think Time Warner would spin off HBO.

And when it comes to selling the whole company it is hard to identify a buyer.

"21st Century Fox keeps coming up in the press, but we don't see how FOXA uses its current equity as currency," she said.

She doesn't know why Amazon or Apple would want all of Time Warner. Nor does she see CBS buying a company 2.5 times its size.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.