24 May 2018
Comcast potentially hijacking Disney's Fox deal with new bid
BY Tom Anstey
Disney's acquisition of Fox is in jeopardy, after Comcast confirmed plans to top Disney's US$52.4bn (€44.27bn, £39bn) offer for the company.
Announced in December last year, Disney and Fox reached a deal for Disney to acquire Twentieth Century Fox Film and Television studios, along with Fox's cable and international TV businesses.
The Fox acquisition would see Disney acquire a huge media library and the distribution rights to the first Star Wars film and the film rights to the Fantastic Four and X-Men franchises – two IPs not obtained through its previous multi-billion dollar acquisitions of Lucasfilm and Marvel.
Comcast has confirmed plans to prepare a higher, all-cash offer for the company, which it said would be "superior" and "at a premium" to Disney's all stock offer.
"While no final decision has been made, at this point the work to finance the all-cash offer and make the key regulatory filings is well advanced," said a Comcast statement.
In December, Disney made its stock offer of US$52.4bn (€44.27bn, £39bn), which was accepted by Fox. Since then Disney share value has fallen by 3.3 per cent – reducing the offer to just over US$50bn.
Either way, the move will have significant impact on the theme park industry, with Disney likely planning to bring its new Fox IPs to its parks. Comcast owns Universal, which would almost certainly want the Fox library to bring to its parks instead.
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