Comcast has confirmed it's preparing a bid for much of 21st Century Fox that would beat Disney's earlier offer of USD 52.4 billion. The company did not disclose the terms of its expected bid, but said it would be all cash, rather than the shares offered by Disney, and cover the same assets, excluding the Fox network and cable channels.
Comcast said it was "well advanced" in the financing and regulatory filings for an eventual bid for the Fox assets. The structure and terms of the offer, including with respect to both the spin-off of the Fox channels and the regulatory risk provisions and the related termination fee, would be "at least as favorable to Fox shareholders as the Disney offer", the company said.
Comcast earlier considered a bid for Fox at the end of 2017, only to withdraw and leave Disney to agree a deal. More recent reports said the company, which already owns NBCUniversal, was reconsidering an offer for Fox. Fox agreed the takeover by Disney at USD 29.54 per share, in an all-stock deal. Its regulatory filings show that it rejected last year another bid worth USD 34.41 per share, or a total USD 66 billion.
Since the Disney bid was agreed, Comcast has also launched a bid to acquire European pay-TV provider Sky. Its offer exceeded that of Fox, which already has a controlling stake in Sky and started a buy-out offer for the remaining shares prior to the bid from Disney.
