In the wake of another bad quarter, the move for an outside third party to acquire all or a portion of ValueVision Media Inc. is intensifying.
On its recent third quarter conference call, ValueVision, which operates ShopNBC.com, No. 65 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, said the company has received several offers from parties it wouldn’t identify. But one organization that is interested is GE Capital Equity Investments Inc., which holds equity in NBC, NBC Universal and ValueVision.
In a recent regulatory filing, GE Capital said it would look for ways to participate in any upcoming auction. On the third quarter conference call, ValueVision independent director George Vandeman, who also heads up the strategic evaluation committee looking into a possible sale, said any decision to sell all or a part of the company will be made by the end of the fourth quarter. Several companies intend to submit proposals, which the ValueVision board of directors will begin to evaluate, Vandeman said.
While the board looks at deals, ValueVision’s management is looking for any way to turn around the company’s disappointing financial performance. In the third quarter ended Nov. 1, revenue dropped by 32.5% while the company’s net loss grew by 258%. For the quarter, ValueVision posted a net loss of $20.8 million on sales of $124.8 million, compared with a net loss of $5.8 million on sales of $184.8 million in Q3 of 2007. “Revenue in the third quarter was disappointing,” says CEO John Buck. “While certainly it’s been a tough economy with consumer confidence at historic lows, we take full responsibility for our sales performance.”
For the first three quarters of the year, ValueVision posted a net loss of $54.2 million on revenue of $422.9 million vs. net income of $23 million on sales of $563.5 million in the previous year. ValueVision did not break out Q3 and year-to-date web sales.
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