Fox: “Comcast a riskier deal than Disney”
June 27, 2018
21st Century Fox is telling shareholders that Comcast’s bid holds a higher risk of being delayed or denied by antitrust regulators than the bid from Walt Disney that Fox’s board has endorsed.
Fox said that its board and its law firm concluded “a strategic transaction with Comcast continued to carry higher regulatory risk leading to the possibility of significant delay in the receipt of merger consideration as well as the risk of an inability to consummate the transactions.”
It noted that Comcast was unable to acquire Time Warner Cable, the upcoming expiration of the consent decree it agreed to when it bought NBC Universal in 2011, the possibility of Comcast getting control of Hulu and Comcast’s ownership of regional sports networks that compete with Fox’s.
The market filing said Disney’s bid would have a smoother route to closing because of Disney’s mix of businesses, the progress Disney and Fox have already made towards getting its proposal regulatory approval.