Business

Time Warner shareholders could force sale or spinoff of HBO

Is Time Warner ready for round two?

Activist shareholders are circling the New York media giant with a view to pushing either a sale of the entire company or a spinoff of its valuable HBO business, The Post has learned.

While the activists haven’t officially approached Time Warner, one firm, New York-based Corvex Management, is weighing a move, sources familiar with the situation said Thursday.

Some media watchers are looking at Netflix march its streaming service around the world and feel the value of HBO could be best unlocked if it were detached from the mother ship, one Wall Street veteran told The Post.

Corvex is run by Keith Meister who, until 2006, was right-hand man for corporate rabble-rouser Carl Icahn.

Icahn famously made a bid to break up Time Warner back in 2006.

Corvex wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Time Warner shares have been a standout over the last five trading days — rising 8.9 percent, to Thursday’s close at $70.20 — while the broader S&P 500 Index has tumbled 5.8 percent.

The rise has not escaped the notice of some on Wall Street. Those tongues are wagging that the conglomerate is on the brink of some big changes.

Over the last 12 months, Time Warner shares — and those of most media stocks — have had a rough time.

But Time Warner is in a particularly sore spot. It spurned an $85-a-share offer from Fox in July 2014, arguing it could do better on its own.

BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield predicted activist intervention at Time Warner in his annual media forecast — noting its shares finished the year 13 percent under the Fox offer, adjusted for Fox’s own share drop at the close of the year.

On Friday, Time Warner boss Jeff Bewkes is headed to the Golden Globes to cheer HBO’s seven nominations.

While he’s there, Bewkes is expected to meet with key shareholders to explain his 2015 plans.

The meetings are routine, sources close to Bewkes said.