Disney To Sell Its Stake In A+E Global Media
Last year, former Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that they were looking at potentially selling Disney’s 50% stake in A+E Global Media, as the company looks to streamline its businesses, with Wells Fargo being brought into the deal with the potential sale.
The A+E Global Media company is also co-owned by Hearst Communications and includes many long-running linear television cable channels like A&E, History, FYI and Lifetime, which is why many of the shows from these networks are available on Hulu and Disney+.
It’s been revealed by Deadline, that Hearst Communications is going to be buying out Disney’s stake in the company, which will result in them owning the entire company. While Roku and Starz were reportedly interested in owning Disney’s stake, Hearst was the natural choice, as getting full control would be more ideal.
This deal hasn’t yet been officially announced and is expected to be revealed during Disney’s next quarterly financial results report next week. The deal is expected to be worth $1 billion and is an all-cash deal.
However, it should be noted that the company is valued at much more than that, and I wonder if there is a potential trade involved, as Hearst also owns 18% of ESPN. So has Disney worked out a way to gain more ownership this way?
There has been lots of talk over the years of Disney potentially selling off its linear assets, especially as other major studios have spun off their linear channels into their own companies. Disney’s Bob Iger even said back in 2023 that linear networks “may not be core” assets, but now the new CEO Josh D’Amaro is much more focused on his “One Disney” approach to reach as many people as possible.
Roger’s Take: I’ve been saying for years that Disney should sell its stake in A+E Media, as it just isn’t as important as it once was. Traditional cable viewership is declining, and only owning half the company means they can’t fully incorporate the networks or studios into the larger business as it does with National Geographic, FX or ABC. Investing that money into its own content or paying off some of the other recent acquisitions like the NFL Network or Hulu, makes much more sense. It does, however, likely mean we will eventually see most of the A+E shows removed from Hulu and Disney+ once existing deals expire.
What do you think of the news of Disney selling its stake in A+E? Let me know on social media!
