After the unconditional AT&T – Time Warner deal, CNBC’s parent company Comcast (CMCSA)/21st Century Fox (FOXA) deal was highly in focus and as per the latest reports, Comcast has bid $65 billion for 21st Century Fox assets. However, 21st Century Fox is presently in agreement talks to be acquired by Walt Disney Company (DIS).
The win of AT&T’s deal is expected to bring in a wave of high profile mergers that companies are looking to consolidate themselves for in a path to bringing down competition and garnering higher profits. For sure, Disney (DIS) would have to move a step forward to keep this deal away from reality.
Comcast stated that it was disappointed when Fox entered a transaction with Disney and is pleased to put forward the all new cash proposal addressing Fox’s Board’s concerns it had with the earlier proposal.
Disney (DIS) earlier had agreed to buy the majority of Twenty-First Century Fox for $52.4 billion in stock. Comcast is fully confident of getting this deal through after the AT&T (T) deal got approved yesterday. The winner of the Comcast-Disney bidders would get Fox’s movie studio, which is responsible for franchises like Avatar and X-Men, as well as regional sports networks and other cable channels.
Comcast has also agreed to offer $2.5 billion reverse termination fee that Disney (DIS) already has agreed to offer and has proposed to reimburse the $1.525 billion break-up fee that DIS would have to pay if the deal doesn’t happen. If Fox’s Board decides on the Comcast deal to be better, Disney would have five days to come up with a counter.
Fox is already in the midst of a long process to acquire the 61% stake in Sky that it does not own for about $16 billion and has tried to move past the doubting British regulators. However, Comcast stated that it is determined to follow up on its bid for Sky along with its pursuit to acquire the Fox assets.