As part of Disney"s whopping $71.3 billion offer to acquire 21st Century Fox in cash and stock, the American entertainment conglomerate agreed to divest Fox’s regional sports networks. That was part of a concession it signed with the U.S. Justice Department, and Amazon reportedly wants to buy all of the 22 regional sports TV networks from Disney.
According to a new report from CNBC, citing sources privy to the situation, the e-commerce giant is among the bidders for those networks including New York-based YES Network. The other companies bidding for that network also include Blackstone and an unnamed sovereign wealth fund, along with the New York Yankees.
Reuters noted that Fox Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch recently suggested that his company might buy back the sports networks from Disney, though the firm was not among the bidders for those networks. This is just the first round of bidding, so it"s possible that Fox could be submitting a bid in the second round slated for later this year.
Due diligence for the bidding is expected to start next week. In addition to Amazon, first-round bidders include Apollo Global Management, KKR & Co, The Blackstone Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and TEGNA. Financial details of the bids were not immediately known, but Reuters reports that all 22 networks could be valued at $20 billion combined.
Source: CNBC via Reuters | Image via Robert Scoble (Flickr)