Disney is willing to purchase 21st Century Fox at all costs, and yesterday raised its bid to $71.3 billion (in cash and stock), which comes down to $38 a share.
The giant led by Bob Iger has raised its bet for the assets sold by Fox, namely the British Sky, Star India, the company’s movie studio, entertainment cable networks and Fox’s 30 percent stake in Hulu. Just a week ago, Comcast had already raised its offer to $65 billion, or $35 per share. But the markets predict that the battle will still go on, as shown by the increasing stock prices. Indeed, according to Fox Business, Comcast is working on a new $41 per share bid, this time all in cash.
After the conquest of Time Warner by AT&T, the war for the media future is becoming more real. While discussing Disney’s offer, Rupert Murdoch, Fox’s executive president, declared: “We are extremely proud of the businesses we have built at 21st Century Fox, and firmly believe that this combination with Disney will unlock even more value for shareholders as the new Disney continues to set the pace at a dynamic time for our industry.” “We remain convinced that the combination of [Fox’s] iconic assets, brands, and franchises with Disney’s will create one of the greatest, most innovative companies in the world”, he added.
