BeIN Media ‘circling $1bn Miramax

US studio Miramax could be sold to Qatar-based BeIN Media Group, with exclusive talks being held, according to a Bloomberg report.

According to unnamed Bloomberg sources, a deal with BeIN could be completed by the end of the year.

Miramax was put on the block for around US$1 billion earlier this year.

Miramax is best known for feature films such as Pulp Fiction, but also has moved into television in recent years with El Rey Network’s Dusk Till Dawn: The Series (pictured) and the upcoming Good Will Hunting TV series.

BeIN Media operates 34 channels, and has made a significant impact on sports rights, hovering up key global and local tournaments and competitions through its BeIN Sports divisions.

The BeIN Media brand was incorporated on January 1, 2014, having officially dissociated itself from Al Jazeera Media Network in December 2013. A media rights group based in London was established in September last year.

Miramax already has one Qatar-based owner, Qatar Holding, which acquired the company five years ago for US$660 million along with an investor group led by US-based Colony Capital from The Walt Disney Company.

Disney had taken control of the famous studio in 1993 after buying out company founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who went on to launch The Weinstein Company after leaving Miramax in 2005.

The Weinstein Company is reportedly going ahead with plans to lay off between 40 and 50 staff in its film division.