Gaining control of the British pay-TV company was key for Comcast’s future plans, but it came at a steep price and Disney still has 21st Century Fox’s assets.
Fox will be logistically ready for its pending mega-deal with the Walt Disney Co. to close Jan. 1, top exec Peter Rice told employees Wednesday. According to sources present at a town hall meeting on the Fox lot in Los Angeles, Rice reiterated that the deal is still on track to close sometime in the first half of 2019, either in the first or second quarter. But he said that structure of New Fox — down to elements such as human resources and payroll — will be ready to go by Jan. 1. Regulatory processes will likely drag the ultimate closure beyond that date.
Gary Newman is in negotiations with 21st Century Fox to remain with the company and lead Fox Broadcasting through an anticipated transition period. Sources close to the executive have confirmed to Variety that Newman is in the final stages of talks to remain with so-called “New Fox” after the company’s mega-deal with the Walt Disney Co. is finalized. Disney’s acquisition of the bulk of Fox’s entertainment assets — including 21st Century Fox Television, the studio that Newman has run with longtime executive partner Dana Walden for nearly two decades — is expected to be completed next year.
After taking a couple of days to mull its options, 21st Century Fox has decided to sell its 39% stake in Sky to Comcast, enabling the Philadelphia-based media conglomerate to take full control of the European pay-TV giant.
After three rounds of secret bidding on Friday and Saturday, Comcast offered the higher price of 17.28 pounds ($22.58) per share for European broadcaster Sky, the equivalent of nearly 30 billion pounds ($39 billion). Rival 21st Century Fox offered 15.67 ($20.47) per share.
The Takeover Panel, an independent British regulator, says that since neither company has declared its offer final, an auction procedure is expected to commence at 5 p.m. on Sept. 21 and end during the evening of Sept. 22.
Exclusives
Walt Disney Co.’s Bob Iger may not have planned it, but his $71.3 billion deal for 21st Century Fox Inc.’s entertainment assets could be about to reshape sports and regional broadcasting in the U.S.
CEO Bob Iger says that Disney won’t have any trouble finding a buyer for the Fox sports channels. “The RSNs will be sold, and the process of selling them is actually already beginning. Conversations are starting, interest is being expressed. And it’s likely that we’ll negotiate a deal to sell them but the deal will not be fully executed or close until after the overall deal for 21st Century Fox closes.”
QUARTERLY REPORT
Fox Tops Wall Street’s Quarterly Estimates
In one of its last financial reports as a stand-alone company, 21st Century Fox topped Wall Street estimates for its fourth fiscal quarter, posting earnings of 57 cents a share on an adjusted basis and revenue of $7.94 billion. Growth came from several divisions, with Cable Network Programming and Filmed Entertainment overcoming a lackluster period for Television due to higher expenses and lower NFL ratings.
Twenty-First Century Fox has triggered a 46-day deadline to raise its bid for Sky in a battle with Comcast for control of the British pay-TV group. Under British takeover rules, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox now has until Sept. 22 to trump Comcast’s £14.75 per share offer for Sky, which values the broadcaster £25.9 billion ($33 billion), after it formalized its own £14 per share bid.
The perfunctory votes happened at seperate meetings this morning in New York. In December, Disney offered $52.4 billion for Fox’s film and television studios and other non-broadcast businesses. After Comcast made […]
The withdrawal by Comcast leaves the path open for The Walt Disney Co. to buy the 21st Century Fox assets with its latest offer of $71 billion. The Department of Justice has OK’d Disney’s bid as long as it sells 22 regional sports networks. Fox shareholders are set to vote on Disney’s offer July 27.
Comcast let Fox’s increased bid for Sky simmer for all of 14 hours before coming back with its own raised stakes. Now, several scenarios have been put in motion.
Sky shares shot up to an 18-year high on Thursday as investors bet a transatlantic battle for the European pay-TV group had further to run, after Comcast’s $34 billion bid trumped an offer from Rupert Murdoch made just hours earlier.
The decision by Britain’s culture secretary clears the final regulatory hurdle for Fox’s bid for the 61% of Sky that it does not already own.
Fox raised its bid to 14 pounds ($18.58) a share as it seeks the 61% of Sky not already under its control. The company says this is 12% higher than the last bid from Comcast and values Sky at 24.5 billion pounds ($32.5 billion). Fox has increased its bid by just over 30% since its first offer in December 2016.
The sale of 21st Century Fox’s studio assets to Disney has triggered the first lawsuit from a shareholder, who complains about what was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The putative class action seeks to enjoin the transaction.
Comcast Corp. is identifying potential buyers for 21st Century Fox’s regional sports networks in an attempt to ease antitrust concerns about a new bid to acquire most of Fox’s assets, people familiar with the matter say.
Comcast is expected to lodge a formal $31 billion bid for Sky this week and the British government is thought to be on the brink of finally giving Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox the final greenlight to buy the 61% of the European pay-TV firm that it currently does not own.
Cash may be king but Walt Disney Co.’s stock-based offer for 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets could give it a $3.5 billion edge over Comcast Corp.’s rival bid.
Last week, Fox bought the rights to broadcast WWE SmackDown for five years. It made another five-year deal for Thursday night NFL games earlier this year. The two franchises are among the most popular on TV. Although the terms of each deal weren’t publicly disclosed, The Hollywood Reporter has reported their combined value at about $4 billion. The deals show how much Fox is willing to bet on sports and entertainment programming as it prepares for life as a leaner company.
Rupert Murdoch’s decision to sell much of his company could be viewed as a surrender, or it might turn out to be his most deft move yet, the one where he saves his company, and fortifies his family fortune.
Britain’s takeover regulator said Walt Disney Co. must offer to buy all of Sky if it acquires 21st Century Fox’s 39% stake and if Rupert Murdoch’s Fox is prevented from purchasing all of the European pay-TV company itself.
Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox is making a new pitch to win approval for its planned takeover of British broadcaster Sky. The first proposal would see 21st Century Fox selling Sky’s news business to Disney Under the second proposal, Sky News would be legally separated from the rest of Sky in a bid to ensure its editorial independence.
DMA 1: NEW YORK
WNYW Reporter’s Suit Against Fox Continues
A New York federal judge won’t yet dismiss a WNYW New York reporter’s claim that she was fired in retaliation for complaining about discrimination — and found it’s too early to tell whether it was irrelevant for her to reference other women’s allegations against Roger Ailes and Billl O’Reilly in her complaint.
Comcast’s gatecrashing of Rupert Murdoch’s eight-year campaign to buy pay-TV group Sky has sparked a regulatory race with 21st Century Fox .
Comcast Corp’s roposal to buy Sky Plc for $31 billion has raised the specter of a potential bidding war between with Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox and Walt Disney Co.
“The market is predicting a much higher offer,” notes one analyst, while another predicts “it is likely Fox will now walk away.”
Comcast is offering 22.1 billion pounds ($29.50 billion) for Sky. The proposed cash offer values each Sky share at £12.50, which represents a 16% premium to the bid made by Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox.
21st Century Fox is closing in on an agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group to buy at least six TV stations, a transaction that stems from Sinclair’s pending $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media. The deal is understood to encompass Tribune-owned Fox affiliates in five markets — Seattle, Denver, Salt Lake City, Sacramento and Cleveland — as well as Tribune’s Miami CW affiliate. The pact also ensures the Sinclair will lock in long-term Fox affiliation deals for dozens of its other Fox affiliates.
Even though Comcast may revisit its bid for assets from 21st Century Fox, network chief Peter Rice is content with Disney’s $52.4 billion deal. “We struck a deal that we thought was good for Fox shareholders,” he said Monday night, adding that the Fox assets are “a great fit for Disney.”
Comcast is considering a new offer for Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox assets, despite an agreement in December to sell them to Walt Disney Co for $52.4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Comcast’s deliberations indicate that it believes it still has a chance to clinch a deal with Fox, even though its previous bid last year for more than $60 billion was rejected over concerns that regulators worried about media consolidation could thwart it, the sources said.
EARNINGS CALL
Murdochs: Use Sports To Outfox Competitors
21st Century Fox Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch: “Live sport has never been more important than it is today. This is why we are energized and excited about our recent deal with the NFL to make Fox Sports the official home of Thursday Night Football for the next five years. NFL programming is hands down the most powerful in all of media.”
Among the factors for the decrease: higher retransmission consent revenue was more than offset by lower advertising revenues reflecting lower cyclical political revenues at the TV stations, lower National Football League and World Series ratings.
Comcast may consider topping Disney’s bid for Fox, according to people familiar with the matter. No decision has been made by Comcast on a topping bid yet, said the people, who asked not to be named because the decision is private.
Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox is hoping the creation of an independent editorial board to protect the news channel at bid target Sky will satisfy British regulators and allow it to finally take control of the European pay-TV group.
The suit alleges that Fox schemed with private equity giant Apollo Global Management to strip the assets of American Idol producer Core Media to the detriment of lenders.
He now seems all but certain to assume the helm after his brother, current Fox CEO James Murdoch, sees through a $52.4 billion asset sale to Walt Disney Co. over the next 12 to 18 months. The question — for the global media and investors alike — is what will happen then.
As Walt Disney Co.’s own plan to purchase the bulk of Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox looms in the background, the U.K.’s merger watchdog is set to issue provisional findings this week on whether the Sky takeover would give Murdoch too much influence in the U.K. and if Fox upholds broadcasting standards. With a final deadline scheduled for the start of March, Murdoch has little time to address any concerns.
