**ITS OFFICIAL** Walt Disney buys 21st Century FOX

[Norrin Radd]

Comcast Confirms Plan To Counter Disney With Richer, All-Cash Offer For Fox

It’s on. Comcast this morning confirmed its plan to make a rich counter-offer for the 21st Century Fox assets that Disney has proposed to acquire.

The move sets in motion what could be one of the all-time merger battles in media. Comcast chief Brian Roberts is set to clash with Disney’s Bob Iger for control of the film and TV empire that Rupert Murdoch and sons James and Lachlan spent years building. While Disney and Fox have agreed to a $52.4 billion deal, Comcast’s counter is believed to be in the $60 billion range.

As many in the media business and on Wall Street had been predicting since word surfaced of Comcast meeting with bankers to line up financing, the NBCUniversal owner and No. 1 U.S. cable distributor said a rival bid is in the “advanced stages.” The trigger for this morning’s announcement, Comcast said, was the filing of SEC documents by Fox and Disney in preparation for special shareholder meetings. The summer meetings are when 21st Century Fox and Disney shareholders are expected to vote on the proposed $52.4 billion acquisition of the Fox assets.

Comcast did not specify a price for its bid in today’s statement. The assets on the table include everything under the Murdoch tent except for the Fox broadcast network, Fox News and the company’s portfolio of local TV stations. In play are the Fox film and TV studios and a lucrative set of cable networks, including FX, National Geographic and regional sports operations.

In the statement, Comcast said it “confirms that it is considering, and is in advanced stages of preparing, an offer for the businesses that Fox has agreed to sell to Disney.” While the company said that “no final decision has been made,” it said that “any offer for Fox would be all-cash and at a premium to the value of the current all-share offer from Disney.” Comcast said, “the work to finance the all-cash offer and make the key regulatory filings is well advanced.”

The statement added, “The structure and terms of any offer by Comcast, including with respect to both the spin-off of “New Fox” and the regulatory risk provisions and the related termination fee, would be at least as favorable to Fox shareholders as the Disney offer.”

Comcast had entered the bidding for Fox’s studio assets last fall before Disney set its plan with Fox in December. While the company has sound fundamentals, many financial analysts have questioned its strategy of going all-in for Fox given the amount of debt it would have to take on. The company has also recently thrown its hat in the ring for European pay-TV giant Sky, offering $31 billion.

With $6 billion in cash on its balance sheet, Comcast is in a well-fortified position to enter the merger arena. But last week, Moody’s Investor Service cautioned that if both the Sky and Fox deals were to go through, Comcast’s total debt would reach $164 billion and could “imperil” the company’s credit rating.

Offering stock isn’t an option for Comcast, as its shares have dropped 16% in 2018 to date.

 

[Dolla$]

fukk Comcast

 

[Conz]

just let Disney take over the world, Comcast is an equally awful corporation and we wouldn't see Fantastic 4 in the MCU so it's a lose lose with a small silver lining if Disney gets Fox, a lose lose if Comcast does.

 

[Conz]

maybe Comcast will make a co-op Spiderman type deal for their characters though

 

[Jx2]

maybe Comcast will make a co-op Spiderman type deal for their characters though

Or maybe they’ll follow their current trajectory of being the shyttiest coprporate entity in the history of corporations

 

[Conz]

Or maybe they’ll follow their current trajectory of being the shyttiest coprporate entity in the history of corporations

probably a safer bet

 

[jay211]

I hope Comcast makes this deal. I don't want the X-MEN falling into Disney's hands.

 

[BXKingPin82]

I hope Comcast makes this deal. I don't want the X-MEN falling into Disney's hands.

cause god forbid we get some great X-men films

 

[AnonymityX1000]

I hope Comcast makes this deal. I don't want the X-MEN falling into Disney's hands.

I want Feige to get them but I also don't want them in the MCU.

 

[jay211]

I want MORE R rated X-MEN films like Logan and Deadpool. Disney will be reluctant to do that.

 

[gluvnast]

cause god forbid we get some great X-men films

The majority of X-Men related films from THIS decade were a lot better than the majority of MCU films. Outside from The Wolverine which was average, but no better than you average MCU movie and basically Apocalypse... 1st Class, DoFP, Logan, Deadpool and Deadpool 2 been stellar. And their shows like The Gifted and Legion been great. I don't want Disney to fukk it up like they done Star Wars or be very childish like most of the MCU movies. Lets be real many of those Marvel films been weak with their own few exceptions. We overrate MCU a bit too much.

 

[BXKingPin82]

The majority of X-Men related films from THIS decade were a lot better than the majority of MCU films. Outside from The Wolverine which was average, but no better than you average MCU movie and basically Apocalypse... 1st Class, DoFP, Logan, Deadpool and Deadpool 2 been stellar. And their shows like The Gifted and Legion been great. I don't want Disney to fukk it up like they done Star Wars or be very childish like most of the MCU movies. Lets be real many of those Marvel films been weak with their own few exceptions. We overrate MCU a bit too much.

 

[AnonymityX1000]

The majority of X-Men related films from THIS decade were a lot better than the majority of MCU films. Outside from The Wolverine which was average, but no better than you average MCU movie and basically Apocalypse... 1st Class, DoFP, Logan, Deadpool and Deadpool 2 been stellar. And their shows like The Gifted and Legion been great. I don't want Disney to fukk it up like they done Star Wars or be very childish like most of the MCU movies. Lets be real many of those Marvel films been weak with their own few exceptions. We overrate MCU a bit too much.

Or it's subjective. lol
I got no problem with the X-Men movies most of them are good. But they have strayed a lot from the source material. I want something more reflective of the comics I read. Mainly, I want more characters developed outside of Wolverine, Mystique, Charles and Magneto.

 

[head shots101]

The majority of X-Men related films from THIS decade were a lot better than the majority of MCU films. Outside from The Wolverine which was average, but no better than you average MCU movie and basically Apocalypse... 1st Class, DoFP, Logan, Deadpool and Deadpool 2 been stellar. And their shows like The Gifted and Legion been great. I don't want Disney to fukk it up like they done Star Wars or be very childish like most of the MCU movies. Lets be real many of those Marvel films been weak with their own few exceptions. We overrate MCU a bit too much.

Sorry bro in my opinion winter Soldier is better than every x men including overrated ass logan

Xmen movies throwing random ass mutants in their movies is ridiculous

 

[gluvnast]

Or it's subjective. lol
I got no problem with the X-Men movies most of them are good. But they have strayed a lot from the source material. I want something more reflective of the comics I read. Mainly, I want more characters developed outside of Wolverine, Mystique, Charles and Magneto.

Well, a lot of Marvel films in general strayed from the Source material. It's not like Civil War is just like what it is in the comic despite paying some homage to certain scenes. Same with X-Men. The biggest complaint about X-men saga was their continuity, but at this point, Fox just no longer cares. Logan, for example, has pretty much no real continuity whatsoever aside from nods from older films here and there, but it was still one of the BEST FILMS of 2017. Plus, Deadpool introduced more character and corrected previous characters to play with. Hence the lead into X-Force.

I dunno.. it is hard for me to see a Disney-Marvel version. You can at least with Fox that they are willing to take chances and the fact of the success of their R-Rated films, they are open to a larger universe to play it without putting any sort of barriers.