Talk:Access Industries

This edit request by an editor with a conflict of interest has now been answered.

Hi again. I would like to request a few changes to the lead section.

• In the first sentence, the characterization "British-American privately held multinational investment group" is inaccurate; while the company does have offices in London, it is headquartered in New York. Please change to:

  "United States-based^[1] privately held investment company.^[2]

• Update the third sentence to reflect that the company has seven areas of focus, not four:

  Access Industries' focus is in seven sectors^[3]: biotechnology, entertainment, external funds, global media, strategic equity, technology ventures, and real estate.^[4]

• Update the last sentence to reflect that the company is headquartered in New York only (not London) and has additional offices in London and Mill Valley (not Moscow):

  It is headquartered in New York^[5] with offices in London^[6] and Mill Valley, California.^[7]

Thank you, C at Access (talk) 19:47, 8 July 2024 (UTC)

Done Likeanechointheforest (talk) 19:51, 15 July 2024 (UTC)

@Likeanechointheforest: Thanks! I just posted another edit request, at Talk:Danny Cohen (television executive)#"President of Access Entertainment" section - perhaps you're able to take a look at that one too. Again, thank you. C at Access (talk) 20:21, 16 July 2024 (UTC)

Lawsuits:

- https://www.justice.gov/atr/case/us-v-len-blavatnik-co-access-industries

- https://casetext.com/case/norex-petroleum-limited-v-access-industries-inc

- https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/151-0060-len-blavatnik-care-access-industries

- https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/business/22chase.html

- https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2015/10/investor-len-blavatnik-pay-656000-settle-ftc-charges-he-violated-us-premerger-notification

Politics:

- https://www.vice.com/en/article/d35kgw/two-top-trump-officials-are-ex-lobbyists-for-a-billionaire-with-deep-ties-to-russian-oligarchs

- https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/oil-gas-and-mining/david-bernhardt-doi-lobbying-records/

- https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/10/council-on-foreign-relations-leonard-blavatnik-russia/

- https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/why-is-warner-music-group-owner-len-blavatnik-russia-probe-1150550/ Likeanechointheforest (talk) 21:57, 20 July 2024 (UTC)

Hi. I have the following suggestions to improve the organization of the article by moving content from the second paragraph of the History section to more appropriate sections of the rest of the article, as follows:

• Please move the first sentence in the second paragraph of the History section

Access purchased a large stake in the fashion label Tory Burch in 2004.^[1]

to the beginning of the "Holdings" section.

• Please move the second and third sentences of the second paragraph of the History section

In 2006, Access Industries took an estimated 70% stake in Top Up TV, a pay TV service in the United Kingdom^[2] which sold its subscriber business to Sky in 2013.^[3] In 2007, Access Industries purchased a majority stake in the sports media company Perform Group.^[2]

to the "Media and telecommunications" section, after the second paragraph in that section.

• Please move the fourth and fifth sentences

Also that year, Access became an owner in Acision, a software company focused on messaging systems.^[4] Acision was acquired by Comverse in 2015.^[5]

to the beginning of the "Technology" section, but replace Also that year, with In 2007, at the beginning of the sentence.

• Please remove the following sixth sentence as it is outdated by 14 years.

As of 2010, Access retained ownership in companies such as Icon Film Distribution UK,^[2] Perform Group, Top Up TV, Amedia, RGE Group, and Warner Music Group (WMG).^[6]

• Please change the name of the section now called "Holdings" to "Acquisitions and investments" which is a more accurate description of what is in that section.

Thanks so much. C at Access (talk) 19:42, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for inviting me to contribute here. I moved or deleted some misplaced sentences but I'm not in favor of the requested changes. The sentences listed fit well in History, and Holdings is meant to be a summary of the current holdings. With the passage of time, moves could be needed in the opposite direction i.e. from Holdings to History. -- Wire723 (talk) 19:13, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

Hi Wire723. I understand your concerns about my proposal to reorganize the History and Holdings sections, and I am ready to move on. Also, thank you for the edits you did make, which I completely agree with. I have a few more edits to suggest, that I hope you can implement.

• In the second paragraph of the History section, after the first sentence, please add the following important transaction:

In 2005, Access Industries acquired Basell Polyolefins which, after Basell's acquisiton of Lyondell in 2007, became LyondellBasell Industries. The transaction was described by Forbes as "the greatest private equity deal of all time."^[1] LyondellBasell Industries was the third largest chemical manufacturer in the US as of 2023.^[2]

• At the end of the same (second) paragraph of the History section, please add the following:

WMG listed on the Nasdaq in 2020.^[3]

• At the end of the third paragraph of the History section, please add the following updates to the company's acquisitions:

Since 2016, Access Industries has been the majority owner of online sport-streaming service DAZN,^[4] and Deezer, the French music streaming service.^[5] In 2018, Access Industries, alongside a consortium of investors, acquired Calpine Corporation for $5.6 billion.^[6] In 2018, Access Industries bought the Theatre Royal Haymarket, the third oldest theatre in Britain.^[7] In the second half of 2022, Access Industries sold its stake in UC Rusal, thereby divesting of its last major asset in Russia.^[8]

• Please replace the last paragraph of the History section with the following, which is up to date as of 2024 (as opposed to the current paragraph which is dated from 2016.)

As of 2024,^[update] Access Industries continued to have stakes in companies such as Warner Music Group, LyondellBasell, DAZN,^[9] Calpine Corporation,^[10] A24,^[11] Deezer,^[12] Spotter,^[11] and others.

• In the first paragraph of the Holdings/Natural resources and chemicals section, please add an important update about UC Rusal:

Access Industries is no longer a shareholder in UC Rusal, having fully divested of its shares in the company in the second half of 2022. This represented the last of its major assets in Russia.^[8]

Thanks again. C at Access (talk) 17:13, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

Done . Thanks for the clear presentation of your requests. Wire723 (talk) 13:29, 9 November 2024 (UTC)

Thanks again Wire723 for implementing my edit request. I hope you can also implement the following suggestions in the Media and telecommunications sub-head of the Holdings section:

• Access Industries no longer has shares in several of the listed companies, therefore it is more accurate to change the first paragraph to the following, discarding the short descriptions of the companies that Access no longer owns.

Access Industries previously held stakes in a number of portfolio companies in the media and telecommunications industries,^[1] including Ice,^[2] RGE Group, Channel 10,^[3] Noga Communications and the Sports Channel.^[4] Access Industries previously owned a majority^[5] stake in Amedia, a large Russian film and TV studio^[6] known for shows such as Poor Nastya. Amedia earned exclusive rights to premiere HBO content in Russia in July 2017.^[7]

• Please add the following to the end of the first paragraph, which updates the section with companies Access is invested in currently:

More recently the company has invested in major media companies including Warner Music Group and DAZN.^[8] In 2021, Reshet 13, an Israeli free-to-air television channel operated by Reshet Media, received investment from a group of investors that included Access Industries.^[9]

• Please add the following paragraph to the end of the Media and telecommunications section:

Access Industries has financed several A24 productions, including The Zone of Interest, which was executive-produced by Len Blavatnik and Danny Cohen of Access Industries.^[10][11] The film won the awards for Best International Feature^[12] and Best Sound at the 96th Academy Awards.^[13]

Thanks so much. C at Access (talk) 15:28, 11 November 2024 (UTC)

Done. I added countries (because e.g. Channel 10 is ambiguous) and the year of the film. Wire723 (talk) 16:39, 11 November 2024 (UTC)

Hi Wire723. Once again, thank you for all your editing help. I have an additional edit request to ask of you: In the "Real estate" section, there are two properties in the list that are no longer owned by Access Industries and should be removed. They are 20 East End (Manhattan, New York City) and MBS Media Campus (Manhattan Beach, California).

In addition, there are two properties owned by Access that should be added to the list, as follows:

• One High Line (Manhattan, New York City)^[1]
• Aman Miami Beach (Miami Beach, Florida)^[2]

Thanks again for all your work. C at Access (talk) 14:19, 19 November 2024 (UTC)

Done as requested. Wire723 (talk) 19:14, 20 November 2024 (UTC)

Thanks once again Wire723 for your help. All the best, C at Access (talk) 20:50, 21 November 2024 (UTC)