Byron Allen Says Capital To Buy ABC is No Problem — Disney Might Not Be Ready To Sell
As speculation continues to swirl that the Walt Disney Company may be preparing to divest itself from ABC and other linear TV assets, one potential buyer who has emerged is media entrepreneur Byron Allen.
Earlier this month, reports circulated that Allen had offered Disney $10 billion to acquire ABC TV, National Geographic, FX, and other local stations from Disney.
Photo: LA Sentinel
While the offer was described as “preliminary” and one that could change, the writing on the wall was clear — Allen was a major player.
Allen Says Capital Is Not An Issue
During a sitdown at the Code Conference with CNBC correspondent Julia Boorstil, Allen discussed his bid, revealing that he had a specific plan for how the deal would be financed.
According to Allen, coming up with the capital for a purchase of ABC would not be the problem, instead, a roadblock could be Disney’s internal deliberations.
Photo: Deadline
“Capital’s not an issue,” he said. “I have access to plenty of capital…There’s trillions of dollars out there looking for a safe place to invest and get it back with a return.”
Disney Is Still Hesitant to Sell
While Bob Iger has previously stated that linear television “may not be core” to the company, Allen believes that Iger “is not ready” to enter formal negotiations.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“These legacy companies are trying to reinvent themselves,” Allen said. “It’s like they’re trying to build a new airplane mid-air while they’re flying their old airplane, in a publicly traded entity. This is a very challenging thing to accomplish. Bob is excellent at what he does, he’s phenomenal, he’s the best person to do it, but whoa, they’re asking him to do something that has not occurred in the last 100 years”.
According to Allen, media executives are being forced to confront questions like “How do you de-couple it? How do you pull it out of their ecosystem? Because it’s really integrated into everything Disney. That’s the hard part.”
Government Regulations Could Complicate Deal
Should Disney choose to sell ABC, Allen believes he has the inside track. This is not just because of the immense amount of capital at his disposal, but because of government regulations.
Anyone looking to purchase ABC stations would have to make sure that they do not exceed an overall reach of 39% of U.S. households. While other potential buyers are already over that level, Allen Media Group is not.
“Washington, DC has made it very clear they’re not interested in private equity and hedge funds buying this type of asset, a national news service, and operating it,” Allen said.
Photo: Indie Wire
“DC is not impressed with the way private equity and hedge funds handled newspapers and accelerated their demise. So, good luck going in there and buying platforms that deliver 80% of the news to America.”
A Plan Years in the Making
According to Allen, he has been “stalking Disney” since 2014. His interest in ABC is real.
“I’m going to chase it down like a lion chasing a gazelle,” he affirms.
For now, at least, the ball is in Disney’s court.
