Echoing my report from yesterday, now it’s said that the Disney acquisition of Fox Studios is in serious jeopardy.
It’s now said that Rupert Murdoch is no longer set on selling Fox Studios to Disney for an all-stock deal, but is looking to get maximum value for the assets, which leaves the door wide open for Comcast to swoop in with a big offer.
Comcast’s offer is said to be an all-cash deal upwards of $60 billion.
Wall St. exec Richard Greenfield said Rupert Murdoch is not set on selling to Disney.
“We are hearing from several sources that Rupert Murdoch… I’m not sure whether it’s a change of heart, but Robert Murdoch is not set on selling to Disney,” Greenfield said. “I think a lot of people have said, ‘Not only he is focused on selling to Disney, but he really wants Disney stock and wants to be a long term owner and doesn’t want cash, he doesn’t want to pay the taxes.’ We believe that is factually incorrect.”
Greenfield continued: “Rupert, like his shareholders in Fox are now fully aligned and simply want the best possible outcome. Meaning the most dollars, whether that is cash, cash and stock, he wants to maximize value, and he is not simply focused on Disney. I think this is a real opening for Comcast to come in with a very significant premium bid to where Disney is now.”
Greenfield also made the point that Comcast purchasing Fox Studios would be a big benefit to them as it would allow Comcast to diversify and gain a worldwide audience. Comcast already owns NBC and Universal, and gaining Fox Studios, from a movie standpoint, would make Universal/Fox a competitor to Disney, while if Disney acquired Fox Studios, they would have half the U.S. movie market, which Comcast and Universal would never be able to catch up to.
In my report from yesterday, I mentioned that Disney stock might be facing woes due to the controversy surrounding Pixar CEO John Lasseter, and that Fox may want to avoid a loss in Disney stock and instead go the safer route with Comcast’s all-cash deal.
Up for grabs includes Fox Studios Marvel assets of the X-Men, Deadpool, Wolverine, Fantastic Four and related characters, as well as the Avatar franchise.
Watch the video for more from Richard Greenfield talking about the Comcast, Fox and Disney merger:
NEW: @RichBTIG tells us that Rupert Murdoch is no longer set on selling 21st Century Fox to Disney for stock, but is looking to get maximum value for the assets, which leaves the door wide open for Comcast to swoop in with a big offer. #CheddarLIVE pic.twitter.com/hHOFdtXH77
— Cheddar (@cheddar) June 7, 2018
