Mark Cuban admits interest in buying X, Fox News

( KRON ) — What would X look like if it was owned by Mark Cuban and not Elon Musk? If Cuban had his way, that question would be answered, he told Wired in an interview published on Sept. 12.

Cuban said that ideally he would “for sure” consider buying X, the popular social media app formerly known as Twitter.

“I wish I could. There’s no reason for him to sell it,” Cuban said.

By “him,” Cuban is referring to Elon Musk, the fellow billionaire who bought and renamed the app in 2022. Musk said in March 2023 that the app is now valued at $20 billion after he bought it for $44 million.

Wired also asked Cuban about potentially buying Fox News. Again, Cuban said he would be interested, but he doesn’t think it’s realistic.

He said he would buy the network “in a heartbeat” if he had the requisite money. The Shark Tank star broke down the potential finances involved in such a purchase.

After being told Fox News’ market cap is $15.6 billion, he said he would have to pay at least a $50% premium, driving the prices up to $22 billion. He believes the changes he would want to make to Fox News would cost another $2 billion. He could make some money back with sales, but he still thinks the total would be too high.

“I don’t have $15 or $20 billion in cash sitting around,” he said.

Cuban did come into some more money recently after selling his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks for an estimated $3.5 billion in November.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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