The Walt Disney Co is in talks to acquire the 57% of portal company Infoseek Corp it does not already own. Disney, whose share price has taken a beating after weak earnings in its traditional markets of film, TV, home video and merchandising, admitted it is also considering issuing a new class of stock for its web properties, including Infoseek and the Go Network. In a complex deal last year, Disney bought 43% of Infoseek for $90m cash and its ownership of Paul Allen-backed start-up Starwave, a web design firm. Together, Disney and Infoseek launched the Go Network in January 1999. This mammoth content site attempts to unite ABC.com, ABCnews.com, ESPN.com and other web content properties into a single portal.
The goal of these discussions, which are far from complete, extend the vision of our strategic relationship that included the launch of Go Network in January, said Infoseek president and CEO Harry Motro in a statement. While Disney looks at the market for internet stocks with dollar signs in its eyes, analysts wonder just how feasible the idea of a spin-off really is. They point out that separating the ESPN.com web site from the ESPN television network is a far from trivial exercise.
