Liberty Global to bid for Fox RSNs
Details
Michelle Clancy
| 06 February 2019

Global media company Liberty Media has thrown its hat into the bidding for the 22 regional sports networks (RSN) that Disney is required to divest as part of its $71B asset deal with Fox.

According to CNBC reports, Sinclair Broadcast Group has meanwhile dropped out of the action.

Apollo Global Management is also said to be making a bid; Disney is said to be asking $20 billion for the set of networks.

MLB is said to be teaming up with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to buy 21 of the 22 RSNs on the block. With them, the league would gain the broadcast rights to 15 of the 30 MLB teams.

Most of the RSNs are valued by Guggenheim at an average of $860 million each.; MLB’s bid values the RSNs at no more than 6.5 times EBITDA, according to CNBC. The YES Network is meanwhile expected to go to the New York Yankees. It’s considered an outlier, worth more than $4 billion.

Fox has said that despite rumours, it has no intention to try to gain the RSNs back at fire sale prices.to try to gain the RSNs back at fire sale prices.