Comcast May Buy Rest of E Network

Comcast Corp. is in talks to buy Walt Disney Co.’s stake in E Entertainment Television Inc., giving it complete ownership of the cable network it manages, a person familiar with the matter said Monday.

The talks are part of a larger discussion over what Comcast should pay for carrying ESPN and other Disney networks, the person added. A deal on E could take some time to reach or might not happen at all, the source said.

Philadelphia-based Comcast is the managing partner in E, which is 40%-owned by Disney. Disney also has the right to trigger a sale if it wants to exit, although the Burbank-based theme park and media company has not done so.

The talks were first reported Monday by Broadcasting & Cable magazine, which calculated that Disney’s stake was worth $1 billion, given Merrill Lynch’s valuation of the Los Angeles-based cable network at about $2.5 billion.

E has two cable channels: E!, which offers celebrity news, and Style Network, which focuses on fashion.

E! is currently available to 86 million cable and satellite subscribers in the United States and Style has 42 million subscribers, the company said. Comcast and Disney bought E in 1997.

Comcast declined to comment. A Disney spokesman was not immediately available for comment.