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Ted & Jerry hit the road
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October 1, 1996: 1:36 p.m. ET
Analysts seek rising stock price, curbing of Time Warner's staggering debt
From Correspondent Steve Young
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) -- The Time Warner-Turner Broadcasting merger may have received the SEC's blessing, but now Gerald Levin and Ted Turner need Wall Street's approval.
Levin and Turner did the dog and pony show for several hours Monday, pitching their merger deal to Dreyfus Investments, a major institutional shareholder.
The company's big investors say Time Warner has to shed some of its staggering $17 billion in debt and patch up its frayed relations with U S West, a partner in Warner Entertainment.
"The reason it's important is that that's the key to unwinding some of their cable assets, that is, to sell to U S West New Media some of their cable properties in exchange for more flexibility in the corporate structure," said Mario Gabelli, chairman of Gabelli Funds.
Levin and Turner plan to meet with a large group of buy-side investors Wednesday morning and with sell-side analysts a week later to explain why Time Warner stock hasn't met Wall Street expectations.
"The meeting today lasted so long because its the first of two weeks of road show presentations, and I have to believe that Jerry and Ted are trying out their act," said Porter Bibb, a media specialist with investment bank Ladenburg Thalmann.
Shareholders "have stayed the course, expecting a better return than what they might have gained elsewhere," Levin said in a memo to Time Warner and Turner employees late Monday. "We will deliver on those expectations." 
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Time Warner Inc.
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