The Walt Disney Company has sold its equity interest in the YES Network, the home of New York Yankees baseball to a newly formed investor group.
The new group taking ownership of the YES Network includes Yankee Global Enterprises – the owners of the New York Yankees baseball team and Sinclair Broadcast Group, among others. The group acquired the 80 percent of the YES not already held by the Yankees at a total enterprise value of $3.47 billion.
The YES Network broadcasts almost all New York Yankees baseball games every season live, and is home to names synonymous with Yankees fans including presenters Michael Kay and John Sterling.
The transaction received the approval of the U.S. Department of Justice. Last year, Disney and Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. entered into a consent decree with the Department of Justice that allowed Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox to proceed while requiring the subsequent sale of 21st Century Fox’s interests in 22 Regional Sports Networks, including the YES Network.
On August 23rd, Sinclair completed its acquisition of 21 of the Regional Sports Networks from Disney, excluding the YES Network.