CBS eyes TV Guide

CBS Corporation is on the verge of acquiring around half of the Lionsgate-backed US cable channel TV Guide Network, according to reports.

The US media giant is in talks to take the 49% stake in TV Guide owned by One Equity Partners (OEP), the private equity arm of JP Morgan Chase & Co, and a deal is expected to close this week.

CBS would have to pay around US$100m with the option to purchase the 1% to bring its stake to 50% in the buy-out, first reported by Deadline.

Lionsgate acquired TV Guide from US-based Macrovision in 2009 for US$255m and soon after sold 49% of the company to OEP for US$123. CBS Corp currently has stakes in CBS, The CW and Showtime in the US, as well as various international TV channels such as Eleven in Australia and CBS Big in India.