Byron Allen Offers Disney $10 Billion For ABC
Comedian turned media mogul Byron Allen has reportedly made a $10 billion offer to acquire, ABC TV, National Geographic, FX, and local stations from The Waly Disney Company.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the offer is “preliminary and could change.” Additionally, Bloomberg says that Bryron will work with private equity firms to finance the deal.
Disney Admits It’s Open For Business
While Disney has yet to publically acknowledge Allen’s offer, following reports yesterday that Nexstar could be a potential ABC suitor, the company released a statement denying that they had made a decision on the network’s future.
“While we are open to considering a variety of strategic options for our linear businesses, at this time The Walt Disney Company has made no decision with respect to the divestiture of ABC or any other property and any report to that effect is unfounded,” Disney said.
Allen Is No Stranger To Aquisitions
A purchase of ABC would not be out of character for Allen. His company, Allen Media Group, has made numerous mergers and acquisitions deals in recent years, spending over $1.3 billion to acquire the Weather Channel and various local television affiliates.
At one point, it looked like Allen was in line to purchase a stake in BET before Paramount changed course and paused the process of seeking minority stakeholders.
Bloomberg previously valued the ABC family of Networks at $4 billion. If Disney could really get $10 billion by including FX and National Geographic, Allen may be offering the company a deal that it can’t refuse.
As always, be sure to check back with MickeyBlog. We will continue to bring you updates on the possible sale of ABC.
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