Earlier this year, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that he would be open to selling off some of the company’s cable networks and local ABC stations. Now Bloomberg is reporting that Byron Allen the owner of the Weather Channel, Local Now, and other companies, has made a $10 billion offer to buy FX, National Geographic, ABC Network, and Disney owned ABC affiliates.
Update: The Allan Media Group the owners of the Weather Channel have confirmed to Cord Cutters News that they have made an offer to buy ABC, FX, National Geographic, and ABC locals owned by Disney.
Reportedly, the offer is based on the assumption that these networks generate $1.25 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, etc. According to Bloomberg, this all comes according to a person familiar with the offer. This comes after Allen was reportedly unsuccessful in buying BET earlier this year after Paramount decided not to sell the network.
Before this Bloomberg report late last night, Disney came out with a statement denying any decision to sell these networks has been made.
“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,” the company said in a statement on its site.
The statement was in response to rumors that Nexstar was circling the affiliates for its portfolio of local broadcast stations. Nexstar executive Tom Carter, who in August stepped down as president and chief operating officer and is now an advisor to the CEO, told an audience at an investor conference that a deal was conceivable.
“ABC’s portfolio of stations is modest,” he said. “There may be a few stations that would require divestiture of either a Nexstar station or an ABC station, but we could onboard those with relatively little friction.”
Both of these reports could be true. Disney could be considering options and looking at what people would be willing to pay. At the same time much like Paramount’s decision not to sell BET, Disney could also decide that it would be better to retain ownership of these networks.