He is one of the
richest men in the world. And now, after 12 years as the mayor of New
York City, Bloomberg is once again taking over Bloomberg LP, the
financial media company that he founded 30 years ago.
His return immediately stirred speculation about how
the company -- best known for its data terminals, but determined to be a
household name for news, as well -- might evolve in the years ahead.
Bloomberg, the company, announced the leadership change on Wednesday
evening. It came about nine months after Bloomberg, the man, left office
and began to spend time in his company's newsrooms.
"I never intended to come back to Bloomberg LP after 12 years as mayor," he said in a statement.
Indeed, he said in an interview last fall that "I'm not going back to
Bloomberg LP" and that "I want to do a number of different things."
While serving as mayor, Bloomberg retained his ownership of the media
company, but was not involved in its daily operations. One of his former
deputy mayors, Daniel Doctoroff, has been the president of Bloomberg LP
since 2008 and the CEO since 2011.
So what happened? The more
Bloomberg reacquainted himself with his old company, "the more exciting
and interesting I found it -- in large part, due to Dan's efforts," he
said in a statement on Wednesday.
"I have gotten very involved
in the company again and that led to Dan coming to me recently to say he
thought it would be best for him to turn the leadership of the company
back to me," he added. "It was a gracious and thoughtful offer and one
that I finally accepted after significant pushback and great
reluctance."
Bloomberg and Doctoroff acknowledged in a joint interview with The New York Times
that the founder's return had made Doctoroff's job more difficult.
Doctoroff told The Times that Bloomberg "is kind of like God at the
company."
"You have to understand that when God comes back,
things are going to be different. When God reappeared, people defer," he
said.
Doctoroff indicated in a press release that he did not
have another job lined up. "I welcome the opportunity to embark on a new
chapter and, in time, will decide what's next," he said.
What's next for Bloomberg is up to ... Bloomberg. Most of the company's
revenues -- which are expected to total $9 billion this year -- come
from expensive subscriptions to terminals. Many financial professionals
are dependent on the terminals, but Bloomberg is facing competition on a
number of fronts, including from some of the big banks that pay big
money for subscriptions.
In a bid to diversify, the company has expanded into markets like law
and alternative energy and has made a number of impressive hires at
Bloomberg News and the opinion section Bloomberg View. But there are
persistent doubts about the company's commitments to revenue sources
that don't involve the terminals.
If Bloomberg the man seeks to
broaden his influence, he may double down on the company's news
operation. (One of the bullet points in Wednesday's press release said
that during Doctoroff's tenure, Bloomberg News enhanced "its global
influence through expanded digital and television presence and the
acquisition of Bloomberg Businessweek.")
Toward the end of
Bloomberg's time in office, there were waves of speculation about his
interest in buying The New York Times or the Financial Times. He has
generally demurred, but never ruled out a newspaper purchase altogether.
More recently, Bloomberg was asked in a Fox News interview if he'd consider buying CNN, if Time Warner (TWC) were to put the network up for sale.
"You never say never, but in this case I can say, probably never," Bloomberg said.
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