Fox Confirms Receiving New Bid for Assets from Comcast

21st Century Fox acknowledged that it received Comcast’s “unsolicited” written offer for the assets Fox was planning to sell to the Walt Disney Co. 

Comcast is bidding $35 a share, which it says is 19% higher than the stock Disney is offering.

“21st Century Fox's Board, in consultation with its outside legal counsel and financial advisors, will carefully review and consider the Comcast proposal,” Fox said. But it said it remains subject to the Disney merger agreement, which calls for Disney to acquire assets including Fox’s entertainment cable networks, its movie studio, TV studio and stakes in Hulu and Sky.

“21st Century Fox has not yet made a determination, in light of Comcast's proposal, as to whether it will postpone or adjourn the July 10, 2018 special meeting of stockholders to consider certain proposals related to the Disney Merger Agreement,” the company said.

In connection with the Disney deal, 21st Century Fox plans to spin off businesses including its broadcast network, Fox News and its sports cable networks into a new company called New Fox.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.