Fox in talks over Starz stake

21st Century Fox has reportedly held preliminary talks with Starz about taking a stake in the US cablenet.

Starz CEO Chris Albrecht met with executives from Rupert Murdoch’s company in LA to discuss a possible deal yesterday, according to a report in The Los Angeles Times.

Sources close to the paper said that rather than buying Starz, Fox could take a share in the company, which has an estimated value of US$3.2bn.

The talks come two months after 21st Century Fox withdrew its proposal to acquire Time Warner for US$80m. The company has also been linked with moves for John De Mol’s prodco Talpa and a renewed bid for the 60.9% stake in UK satcaster BSkyB that it doesn’t already own.

Starz refused to comment on the speculation but has been viewed as a potential takeover target since it was spun-off by John Malone’s Liberty Global in 2013. The broadcaster is in about 22 million homes and its sister channel, Encore, is in 35 million.

In recent years, Starz has bolstered its original programming operation, with series such as Spartacus and Outlander scoring high ratings.