Disney Sells Miramax to L.A. Billionaire

The Financial Times reported early Thursday that a deal could be imminent for one of Hollywood's marquee names: Private equity group Colony Capital, they said, was close to buying Miramax from Disney for $600 to $700 million. Now TheWrap.com has confirmed the deal, with Los Angeles billionaire Ron Tutor, Morgan Creek, Colony Capital, and David Bergstein, at a reported $675 million. Tutor will lead the company, and Bergstein is expected to be a senior advisor. The studio is known for independent fare such as Pulp Fiction and is being unloaded by Disney, which says it wants to focus on more family-friendly flicks. The company's much-vaunted library, which includes 600 movies, has seen its value sink along with the slumping market for DVDs in the U.S. The deal is expected to close by July.