Comcast moves away from Fox's bout recovery

Comcast conceded defeat to rival Walt Disney on Thursday in the $ 71 billion battle to redeem much of Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox media empire [19659005]. focus its efforts on the conclusion of a £ 26 billion deal for the acquisition of Sky, the European pay television company. Comcast is trying to fend off the rival interests of Fox, which already holds a 39 percent stake in Sky and whose bid is supported by Disney.

"I would like to congratulate Bob Iger and the Disney team and congratulate the Murdoch and Fox family for creating such a desirable and respected company," said Brian Roberts, chief executive of Comcast.

Mr. Iger said that Disney was "extremely happy" with this news. "We are now focusing on the completion of the regulatory process and ultimately on the integration of our activities," he said in a statement.

The withdrawal of Comcast closes one of the biggest auction wars in the history of the media. has raised the price of Fox's assets by nearly $ 20 billion, and is shifting the global media fight back to Europe, where Sky has operations in the UK, Germany, and Italy. Faced with digital disrupters such as Netflix and Amazon, which quickly undercut traditional media companies.

Comcast shares climbed 3% to $ 35.09 in the afternoon in New York, investors were relieved that the auction would not go higher. Fox, by contrast, dropped 1.4 percent to $ 46.05.

Disney and Comcast fought for most of the year to acquire two separate stakes in Sky: the 39% owned by Fox and the remaining shares held by others. Sky's shares closed down 1.5 percent to £ 15.09 in London.

Last week, Comcast increased its offer to buy Sky at £ 14.75 per share, up from its initial offer in April of £ 12.50. The offer came just hours after Fox unveiled its own improved offer of £ 14 per share, with Disney's backing, to buy the 61 percent of Sky that she does not already have.

Disney will acquire Fox 39 cent in Sky as part of its acquisition of Fox's entertainment assets, including the Fox movie studio and cable channels. But it's not clear if Disney-Fox will now make an improved offer for the rest of Sky.

Michael Nathanson, media analyst at MoffetNathanson, said the investors wanted Disney to drop his suit. "Most of our customers who own Disney would be more than happy if Disney sold the 39 percent to Comcast," he said.

Sky would give Disney scale in Europe, as well as a strong position in sports media rights and streaming video, he added. "But US investors think that it's a satellite company and they have a negative view of the satellite."

While Comcast was planning to increase its offering for Fox assets, it was considering working with a private or technology company to defeat Disney. Its higher debt has limited its ability to outperform the latest Disney offer. From the beginning of the discussions, the Murdoch family also preferred to sell the Fox assets to Mr. Iger.

As part of the Disney deal, the Murdochs plan to retain ownership of parts of their broadcast empire, including the Fox Network and Fox News, and put them in a new company.

Some investors thought that the 15% drop in the price of the Comcast stock this year – before announcing the abandonment of the Fox offer – made it less attractive any bid for 39 purchase of a cable company than that of Disney, according to the with the knowledge of the negotiations. Disney's shares climbed 3% this year, beating the broader S & P 500 US stock index.

A turning point comes in late June when American antitrust authorities approve Disney's deal with Fox on the condition of selling some of the regional sports networks that it will acquire as part of the deal. This decision gave Disney the advantage by arguing to Fox's shareholders that its bid would be subject to less regulatory control than an agreement with Comcast.

The US Department of Justice recently decided to appeal the decision of a judge who gave the green light to the telecommunications company AT & T in its $ 80 billion takeover of Time Warner, owner of CNN and HBO [ad_2]
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