Comcast leaves the offer for Fox; focuses on Sky

Comcast yesterday accepted the loss of competing with Walt Disney in the $ 71 billion battle to buy most of 21st Century Fox, the media empire of Rupert Murdoch.

The cable group, which also It is the owner of NBC Universal, said that it will instead focus its efforts to reach a £ 26 billion deal for the acquisition of Sky , the European pay television company. Comcast is trying to defend itself against the interests of its rival Fox, who already holds a 39% stake in Sky and whose offer is supported by Disney.

"I would like to congratulate Bob Iger (Disney CEO) and the Disney team and congratulate the Murdoch and Fox family for creating such an attractive and respected company," said Brian Roberts, CEO of Disney. Comcast.

Iger said that Disney was "extremely happy" with this news. "Our goal now is to complete the regulatory process and make progress towards the integration of our activities," he said in a statement.

Comcast's retreat concludes the biggest auction wars in the history of the media. a duration that has pushed the price of Fox's assets by nearly $ 20 billion, and shifts the global media power struggle to Europe, where Sky has operations in the UK, in Germany and Italy

they fought for Fox as a way to reinforce against digital disrupters such as Netflix and Amazon, which quickly weakened traditional media companies.

Comcast shares rose 3 percent to $ 35.09 in afternoon trading in New York, while investors expressed relief because bids will not increase anymore. Fox, on the other hand, dropped 1.4% to trade at $ 46.05.

Disney and Comcast struggled to acquire two separate entries in Sky: Fox's 39% stake. the remaining shares that others have. Sky shares closed with a 1.5% drop to 15.09 pounds in London

Last week, Comcast increased its offer to buy Sky at 14.75 pounds per share since its bid initial in April of 12.50 pounds. . The offer came a few hours after Fox unveiled a £ 14 per share enhancement, backed by Disney, to buy the 61 percent stake in Sky that it does not have yet.

Disney will acquire the 39% stake in Sky as part of their purchase of Fox's entertainment assets, including Fox's movie studio and cable channels, but it is unclear whether Disney-Fox will present a improved offer for the rest of Sky

Michael Nathanson, media analyst at MoffetNathanson, said investors want Disney to abandon the purchase. "Most of our Disney-owned customers would be happier if Disney sold Comcast at 39 percent," he said.

Sky will offer Disney a stopover in Europe, as well as a strong position in Disney rights. sports media and video streaming he added. "But US investors view this as a satellite TV business and have a negative view of satellites."

While Comcast was planning to increase its offering for Fox's assets, and was considering working with a private equity or technology company to outperform Disney, its larger debt burden has limited its ability to surpass the latest Disney offer. Since the beginning of the discussions, the Murdoch family preferred to sell Fox's assets to Iger

. As part of the Disney deal, Murdoch plans to retain ownership of parts of his broadcast empire, including the Fox Network. and Fox News, and place them in a new company.

Some investors have estimated that the 15 percent drop in Comcast's share price this year – before announcing the withdrawal of its offer by Fox – does any According to a team of cable companies, the Offer shares were less attractive than those of Disney, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations. Disney shares rose 3% this year, exceeding the broadest benchmark pace in the US stock market S & P 500.