M&A Deal Summary

Sinclair Broadcast Group Acquires The Walt Disney Company - 21 Regional Sports Networks & Fox College Sports

On May 3, 2019, Sinclair Broadcast Group acquired media company The Walt Disney Company - 21 Regional Sports Networks & Fox College Sports from Walt Disney for 10.6B USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Sinclair Broadcast Group’s 7th transaction in the Media sector.
  • This is Sinclair Broadcast Group’s largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is Sinclair Broadcast Group’s 10th transaction in the United States.
  • This is Sinclair Broadcast Group’s 3rd transaction in California.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2019-05-03
Target The Walt Disney Company - 21 Regional Sports Networks & Fox College Sports
Sector Media
Buyer(s) Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sellers(s) Walt Disney
Deal Type Divestiture
Deal Value 10.6B USD

Target

The Walt Disney Company - 21 Regional Sports Networks & Fox College Sports

Burbank, California, United States
The Walt Disney Company - 21 Regional Sports Networks & Fox College Sports is the largest collection of RSNs in the marketplace today, with an extensive footprint that includes exclusive local rights to 42 professional teams consisting of 14 Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, 16 National Basketball Association (NBA) teams, and 12 National Hockey League (NHL) teams.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Sinclair Broadcast Group

Hunt Valley, Maryland, United States

website


Category Company
Founded 1986
Sector Media
Employees11,600
Revenue 3.9B USD (2022)
DESCRIPTION

Sinclair Broadcast Group is a television broadcasting company, owns or provides programming, operating, or sales services to television stations in the United States. Sinclair Broadcast Group was founded in 1986 and is based in Hunt Valley, Maryland.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 10 of 11
Sector (Media) 7 of 8
Type (Divestiture) 2 of 3
State (California) 3 of 3
Country (United States) 10 of 11
Year (2019) 1 of 2
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 6
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-03-01 Tennis Media

New York, New York, United States

Tennis Media Co. LLC is a unified media platform that combines Tennis.com, the most visited online tennis platform in the world, and Tennis magazine, the sport’s most circulated print publication. Tennis Media is based in New York, New York.

Buy $8M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-08-29 YES Network

New York, New York, United States

YES Network is a 24/7 sports and entertainment television network featuring the New York Yankees. YES also broadcasts the New Jersey Nets and other professional and collegiate sports teams as well as classic sports footage and sports-related content. YES Network was founded in 2002 and is based in New York City.

Buy $3.5B

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

Walt Disney

Burbank, California, United States

website


Category Company
Founded 1923
Sector Media
Employees175,000
Revenue 82.7B USD (2022)
DESCRIPTION
Entrance to The Walt Disney Company's headquarters in Burbank, California.
Entrance to The Walt Disney Company's headquarters in Burbank, California.

Walt Disney is a diversified worldwide entertainment company. Walt Disney operates in five business segments. These include Media Networks, Parks and Resorts, Studio Entertainment, Consumer Products and Interactive. The Media Networks segment includes international and domestic cable television networks, a domestic broadcast television network, television production operations, domestic and international television distribution, domestic television stations, domestic broadcast radio networks and stations, and publishing and digital operations. Walt Disney's Parks and Resorts segment owns, operates, or has in interest in theme parks, hotels, a cruise line and other properties in the US and Asia. The Studio Entertainment segment produces and acquires live-action and animated motion pictures, direct-to-video content, musical recordings and live stage plays. The Consumer Products segment designs, develops, publishes, promotes and sells a wide variety of products based on existing and new characters and other Company intellectual property. The Interactive segment creates and delivers branded entertainment and lifestyle content across interactive media platforms. Walt Disney was founded in 1923 and is based in Burbank, California.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 5 of 8
Sector (Media) 3 of 5
Type (Divestiture) 5 of 8
State (California) 2 of 3
Country (United States) 4 of 5
Year (2019) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 3
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-12-14 21st Century Fox

New York, New York, United States

Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. is a premier portfolio of cable, broadcast, film, pay TV and satellite assets spanning six continents across the globe. Reaching nearly 1.5 billion subscribers in more than 100 local languages every day, 21st Century Fox is home to a global portfolio of cable and broadcasting networks and properties, including FOX, FX, FXX, FXM, FS1, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Sports, Fox Sports Network, National Geographic Channels, MundoFox, STAR, 28 local television stations in the U.S. and more than 300 channels that comprise Fox International Channels; film studio Twentieth Century Fox Film; and television production studios Twentieth Century Fox Television and Shine Group.

Buy $66.1B
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2020-01-22 The Walt Disney - Foxnext Games

San Jose, California, United States

The Walt Disney Co's Foxnext Games is a developer of MARVEL Strike Force and Cold Iron Studios in San Jose, California.

Sell -