According to an inside source, Comcast Corp. in is negotiations to buy out Disney's stake in E! Entertainment Television, which would give it total ownership of the cable network it now manages.
Disney, who is 40% owner in E!, which Comcast manages, has the option to trigger a sale if it decides it wants to exit the arrangement, which as of now the company hasn't exercised.
The negotiations were primarily reported by Broadcasting & Cable magazine, which figured that Disney's stake is worth around $1 billion, based upon Merrill Lynch's estimate of E! being worth approximately $2.5 billion.
The deal, if it happens at all, is said will probably take quite some time to finalize.
E! encompasses two different cable channels: the more well-known celebrity new channel E! and the Style Network, which deals with fashion.
E! is able to be watched by a potential 86 million subscribers whether cable or satellite while Style has 42 million subscribers, according to Comcast.
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