Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos has been weighing a doable acquisition of CNBC, The Publish has realized.
The 61-year-old e-commerce magnate has signaled curiosity to enterprise associates in shopping for the cable community — residence to “Squawk Box” and “Mad Money with Jim Cramer” — after it’s spun off by NBCUniversal mother or father Comcast later this 12 months, in accordance with an individual acquainted with Bezos’ considering.
CNBC would “align well with his interests,” mentioned one other supply near Bezos, who famous that the community may function a reputable “neutral voice” in his media portfolio — a significant plus following Bezos’s complications as proprietor of the left-leaning Washington Publish.
The Amazon founder has weathered months of headline-grabbing chaos on the iconic newspaper, which has been mired in losses, layoffs and workers protests over his strikes to shift the paper’s protection in a extra centrist, pro-capitalist course.
A rep for Bezos declined to remark.
Comcast, in the meantime, plans to spin off its struggling cable belongings — which additionally embrace MSNBC, USA Community and E! — by the top of the 12 months. CNBC will grow to be a part of a publicly-traded firm known as Versant, which shall be run by a handful of NBCUniversal execs led by Chief Government Mark Lazarus.
Sources near Comcast informed The Publish that Bezos has not approached the cable large headed by CEO Brian Roberts.
One other supply shut the scenario mentioned Versant plans to develop CNBC, not promote it.
Versant declined to remark.
It’s unclear how a lot Bezos — at present ranked because the fourth richest particular person on the earth with a internet value of $241 billion, in accordance with Forbes — can be keen to pony up for CNBC.
Comcast doesn’t get away financials for its cable belongings however not too long ago mentioned the soon-to-be spun-off Versant generated about $7 billion in income final 12 months.
Shopping for CNBC can be tough. There’s a two-year interval wherein Versant couldn’t interact in promoting main belongings like CNBC and even the complete firm with out main tax implications, sources informed The Publish.
A supply near the scenario mentioned the corporate gained’t probably jeopardize the tax-free nature of the spinoff.
Late final 12 months, Comcast introduced it will hive off its cable belongings and maintain NBCUniversal’s NBC broadcast TV community, “Real Housewives” residence Bravo, its movie and TV studios and theme parks, as effectively streaming service Peacock.
Bezos purchased the Washington Publish from the household of Katharine Graham in 2013 for $250 million, however the paper since has been dogged by steep losses as subscribers have fled.
The Amazon founder has been vacationing together with his new bride Lauren Sanchez within the South of France. They had been noticed Tuesday leaving glitzy seaside membership Le Membership 55, not removed from the place the mogul’s mega-yacht, Koru, dropped anchor.
Bezos’ want to broaden his media empire follows a flurry of headlines in latest weeks that he was curious about shopping for Vogue journal for Sanchez, a former TV reporter — and even the style shiny’s mother or father firm Condé Nast.
Over the previous 12 months, Bezos and Washington Publish CEO Will Lewis have tried to maneuver the Beltway broadsheet extra to the middle — to the dismay of staffers.
Bezos’ choice to kill the newspaper’s endorsement of Kamala Harris for president shortly earlier than the election in November sparked a revolving door of high-profile departures. Greater than 300,000 readers canceled their subscriptions.
The uproar continued after Bezos ordered the outlet’s opinion part to concentrate on “personal liberties and free markets” — a extra impartial matter — relatively than weighing in on politics and different points.
The directive led to the resignation of Opinion Editor David Shipley, adopted by the departure of longtime columnist Ruth Marcus. On Monday, Pulitzer Prize-winning opinion author Jonathan Capehart introduced he accepted a buyout.
