Capitals not an issue, he said of securing financial backing for his $10 billion bid.
I have access to plenty of capital.
Allen provided the update during a sit-down at the Code Conference with CNBC correspondent Julia Boorstin.
Allen Media Group CEO Byron AllenGreg Doherty/Getty Images for Allen Media Group / Byron Allen
Thats the magic trick.
Inside Disney, however, there are also complications, Allen noted.
These legacy companies are trying to reinvent themselves, Allen said.
This is a very challenging thing to accomplish.
How do you pull it out of their ecosystem?
Because its really integrated into everything Disney.
Thats the hard part.
Competitively, Allen argued, he enjoys some clear advantages.
Nexstar is at that level, as are many other station owners.
AMG is not, Allen said.
Private equity or tech suitors, meanwhile, could run afoul of regulators in other respects.
So, good luck going in there and buying platforms that deliver 80% of the news to America.
Allen said his interest in ABC and the owned stations dates back nearly a decade.
(Sinclair bought it instead as part of a $985M transaction).
They know Im real, he said.
They know its sincere.
They were saying, Take it, take it.
Gave us a great price because they were constantly talking about the decline and the demise oflinear television.
I said, No, I think youre reading it wrong.
Since the acquisition, Allen said top-line revenue and EBITDA have both increased for the online grid.
Because AMG is a private company, it is not required to publicly disclose financial information.
Allen said he had been stalking Disney for the local stations since at least 2014.
That year, WJLA in Washington, D.C. was sold after 40 years of ownership.
