According to TMZ Sports, lyrical-legends-turned-respected-businessmen LL Cool J and Ice Cube have paired with jewelry tycoon (and billionaire) Carolyn Rafaelian to quietly court 22 different sports stations left on the market after the Disney-21st Century Fox merger.
Fox’s free agents
Just as Walt Disney Co. was about to reel in its $71B fish (AKA, a collection of 21st Century Fox assets), the Justice Department said they would only approve the deal if Disney agreed to sell Fox’s 22 regional sports networks.
Disney was granted 90 days from its closing date with Fox to sell all 22 networks, including YES (a network that holds the rights to New York Yankees games) and Fox Sports West (rights holder for many LA-based sports teams).
LL and Cube aren’t the only ones looking to get in the mix
The multi-hyphenates are up against some stiff competition, with private equity firms Apollo Global and the Blackstone Group, as well as media conglomerate Sinclair Broadcast Group.
YES network is arguably the biggest get of the lot, as Disney reportedly wants $5B to $6B for the Yankees affiliate, and for a total package deal, Disney is aiming in the $15B to $25B price range.