Twenty-First Century Fox wants to sell its assets regardless of who is going to buy them, closely followed media expert Michael Wolff told CNBC on Monday.
That means if a deal isn't struck between Walt Disney and 21st Century Fox, the Murdoch empire may look to find another buyer for its assets.
One big issue is Sky, which 21st Century Fox has been trying to buy, Wolff said. It currently owns 39 percent.
"If they don't get that deal, I have been told over and over ... then all bets are off. It was all in flux," the author of "The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch" said in an interview with "Power Lunch."
"What has been clear to a lot of people over the past couple of months is that that deal is not going to happen. … Without that deal, they don't know what the company is," added Wolff, who is also a columnist for New York magazine.
Sources told CNBC that 21st Century Fox has been holding talks to sell most of the company to Disney. That includes the stake in Sky. Fox would wind up with a tight focus on news and sports.
Wolff said right now it is unclear what kind of company Fox becomes if a deal goes through, but it will still be a highly profitable media company for years to come.
"It is just not any longer, and this is crucial, the global blockbuster powerhouse that a younger Rupert Murdoch imagined and built and that his son James Murdoch thought he could double and quadruple and continue to grow."
Officials at Disney and Fox declined to comment on the talks.
— CNBC's David Faber contributed to this report.