Credit: DisneyPlenty of speculation has revolved around Disney selling off multiple properties, networks, and more. Though CEO Bob Iger has stated that nothing will be sold yet, rumors of “preliminary talks” have happened. Those talks might kick into high gear, as the House of Mouse has now been offered a massive $10 billion bid for multiple networks.
Related: Disney Reportedly Drafting Grand Finale of Broadcast Television
In the last 15 years, Disney has become a juggernaut, securing acquisitions of Marvel Entertainment in 2009, Lucasfilm in 2012, and 21st Century Fox in 2019. Despite owning some of the biggest media companies in the world, things have gone awry for the conglomerate. Park attendance, poor streaming numbers, and box office performance have all led to some sort of strain for Iger to deal with.
Initially, Iger would announce that the company would shift gears to alleviate concerns with all those categories. He went on record stating that Lucasfilm and Marvel properties would be slowed way down, which was arguably the biggest earner for the media side of things for years.
Slowly, rumors began circulating that Iger could be optioned to sell the company overall to someone like Apple. That or Disney’s massive media acquisitions could be sold for a considerable sum. Disney brass stated they were “open to considering a variety of strategic options for our linear businesses.” A strategic option might have just arrived for the media conglomerate.
ABC Executive Byron Allen Offers Disney $10 Billion
Media mogul Byron Allen has now offered Disney a staggering $10 billion offer to acquire ABC, FX, National Geographic, and other local Walt Disney networks. This is a reported “preliminary offer and could change.” Still, Allen is striking first when the rumors have swelled about parts of the House of Mouse being up for sale.
The issue is that Allen will be battling with rival Nexstar Media Group, which has also been steadily buying up many TV networks. The company recently purchased The CW and has been cutting out programs like the long-standing Arrowverse shows.
We have no idea what would happen if Disney sold ABC, FX, and National Geographic to Allen, but we imagine his idea would be to keep those networks as is.
Allen already owns a string of non-affiliated ABC new stations, but the premise of his purchase of Disney properties would likely lead to him selling those off, as the deal could cause issues with rival networks like NBC and CBS. Allen’s company, Allen Media, owns many stations ranging from Tuscon, Arizona, to Honolulu, Hawai’i. Despite investing a reported $1.3 billion in acquiring stations, Allen has not been successful with every acquisition.
Should he successfully cut a deal with Disney for any variation of the networks the company is willing to sell, he could become a huge player in the chase for network acquisitions.
Related: Disney Channel Execs Panic Over Potential Sale, Bob Iger Reportedly Changes Tune
Bob Iger announced back in July that Disney was up to selling off its linear TV networks, and so far, he is now facing a massive $10 billion offer. We are unsure what the company plans to do, as they have yet to make a statement about this offer. Disney could theoretically wait it out and see a bidding war between Nexstar Media Group and Allen Media. Either way, $10 billion is a hard number to ignore.
Even if the cost-cutting ventures would make Iger appear as the villain, he will likely entertain this offer at least.
What do you think about Disney being offered $10 billion? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!