Disney’s ESPN could be worth $24 billion; Apple among likely buyers – BofA

According to BofA Global Research, Walt Disney’s ESPN sports network could secure an enterprise value of $24 billion and attract significant investment interest from Apple, Verizon, major sports leagues, and more.

Reuters:
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In a bid to lure an outside investor, the media giant last month disclosed the financials of ESPN that revealed declining sales and profit at the network considered to be the crown jewel of its traditional TV business.
CEO Bob Iger has said Disney wants to keep ESPN and will try to create a streaming app for it by either forming a joint venture or finding a buyer for a minority stake in the network.
That means a 36% interest in ESPN would be up for sale, assuming Disney intends to retain a 51% majority interest and accounting for media company Hearst’s 20% stake, BofA analysts led by Jessica Reif Ehrlich wrote in a note published Wednesday.
Interested parties could include leagues like the National Football League and the National Basketball Association, newcomers like Apple and Amazon.com, which are jostling to get into live sports, and distributors like Verizon and Comcast, the note said.

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MacDailyNews Take: Apple doesn’t need a stake in ESPN. Just continue inking deals with the major sports leagues as they’ve already done with Major League Baseball and, most impressively, with Major League Soccer.
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