21st Century Fox has been holding talks to sell most of the company to Disney, people familiar with the situation told CNBC. The talks have taken place over the last few weeks, and there is no certainty they will lead to a deal. The two sides are not currently talking, but given the on again, off again nature of the talks, they could be revisited, the report said.
Fox reportedly wants to narrow its focus to news and sport, as it's unable to gain the scale necessary to succeed in entertainment. Disney would benefit from the additional and movie and TV assets and the Sky pay-TV distribution in Europe to launch its planned direct-to-consumer offering.
Disney would not purchase all of Fox, according to people with knowledge of the talks. It could not buy the Fox broadcast network, as this would overlap with its own ABC, nor could Fox's sports assets be combined with ESPN. Disney would also not purchase Fox's local broadcasting affiliates, according to people familiar with the negotiations. It would take over the cable channels, such as FX and National Geographic.
