Disney Increases Fox Bid To $71.3 Billion

Disney recently made a $52.4 billion stock-based bid to acquire 21st Century Fox’s film and TV assets. The latter’s board of directors was set to vote on the bid come July 10th. Things got a bit interesting last week when Comcast jumped into the fray and made a higher all-cash bid of almost $65 billion for the company. It was reported that Disney would enter a bidding war with Comcast and now it has because Disney has increased its bid for Fox to $71.3 billion.

Disney’s previous bid valued Fox’s assets at about $28 per share while it’s amended of values it at $38 per share which amounts to almost $71.3 billion. It’s also being more flexible in addition to increasing the per share value.

Disney is now going to allow shareholders of 21st Century Fox to decide if they want a chunk of the sale in the form of Disney stock or cash but it will be a 50/50 proration. This move is meant to counter the all-cash offer made by Comcast which on the face of it may seem more appealing to shareholders.

Fox’s board of directors has decided to postpone the July 10th meeting so that shareholders have more time to consider Disney’s new bid. The meeting will take place at an unannounced date in the future. The additional time will also give Comcast a chance to decide whether or not it wants to counter with an even higher offer.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: General
Tags: comcast, disney