The USA’s Federal Trade Commission has approved the sale of NBCUniversal’s 15.8 per cent stake in A&E Television Networks to Disney.

While few doubted the sale would be approved, the deal also values A&E at a quite staggering $20 billion. The asset sale also means that Disney and Hearst now each have a 50/50 stake in A&E.

A&E was found in 1984 and with brands such as the core A&E Network, but quickly followed with niches such as Biography, History, Lifetime and more recently Crime & Investigation, has become a key multichannel player.

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