BURBANK, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Walt Disney Co. said after the market closed Monday that it's in discussions with online search engine company Infoseek about acquiring the 57 percent of Infoseek it doesn't already own. Those discussions include the possibility of a spinoff of Disney's Internet assets, the company said.
Disney said in a statement that it hasn't "reached any final determination" as to whether to proceed with such a transaction.
Among possible alternatives Disney is considering is a deal in which it would buy Infoseek in exchange for a "class of Disney common stock that would track the combined Internet operations of Disney and the businesses conducted by Infoseek."
Disney's stock jumped Friday on speculation of such a move. The shares rose 1/4 to 30 7/8 Monday. Infoseek's stock rose 6 5/16, or 17 percent, to 43 and were trading several dollars higher in after-hours trading.
Separately Monday, Disney said it'll take a significant stake in a new Internet venture formed by the outgoing chairman of the company's Buena Vista Internet Group, or BVIG.
BVIG includes Disney.com, ABC.com, ABCNews.COM, ESPN.com, and the company's 43 percent stake in Infoseek, with which it operates the Go Network.
|
