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Fox delaying the July 10 vote also seems to indicate that they're going to entertain a bidding war. Either way, it's possible to see Disney ending up putting up even more billions in cash (and more shares to the Murdochs). One other big wrinkle here, Murdochs will control even more Disney...

Disney already has all of those things (minus the overseas stuff); with only around $30 billion in debt on the books, Disney has EBITDA in the $15-16 billion range annually. Disney can easily build a global streaming service with its own content. I don't see why $90 billion in debt needs to be...

It's starting to reach the point where even Disney will have a lot of debt on its books post-merger: The original merger agreement was basically an all-stock merger where Disney would have around $40-45 billion in debt on its books post-merger. The revamped merger agreement is going to feature...

It's actually $35+ billion more cash. Disney's original bid was all-stock (with only $13 billion in debt assumption). Disney's new bid is 50-50 stock/cash prorated. That means Disney is going to pay $35 billion in cash and take on the $13 billion in debt.

Well, this is probably what Roberts was aiming for at a minimum; Disney switched to a 50-50 cash/stock bid, which means that they're going to put $35 billion in extra cash on the table now as opposed to their previous bid. I think Comcast has one bid left around the $80 billion range. Then...

Disney already has enough content to make an ESPN streaming service and a global content service with Disney/Pixar/Lucasfilm/Marvel and the rest of their tv content from ABC to Disney XD/Jr. So I don't see how they lose if they walk away if Comcast makes a stupidly large offer.

I don't think Iger would let the Fox assets go easily, but I'm just skeptical of what his horizon here is. Brian Roberts can afford to jack up the debt ratio on Comcast as high as he wants because at the end of the day, he can cut buybacks and plow money into bringing down debt for a 8-10 year...

No, Comcast had asked Amazon about Amazon buying the domestic Fox assets if the AT&T-TW bid was denied by the judge. But given that AT&T-TW got a clean bill of passage, I'd assume that Amazon will stay out of this. Also worth noting that TimeWarner or CBS is a better buy for any tech company...

Next couple of days we'll probably see a counterbid from Disney, and then another bid from Comcast. Looking at the fact that all 3 companies are trading up since the AT&T-TW decision..., investors love this bidding war.

Leverage only matters if you're willing to use it: Here's a very important factor that's being discounted here: 1) Brian Roberts, 58, is Comcast. It's written into the Comcast articles of incorporation that if Brian Roberts is healthy, willing, and able, then he's entitled to be both Chairman...

Reason why Comcast is probably the favorite now is just because with cable at least being a short-term cash cow; they can afford to just pile cash onto any offer and then restrict their dividend growth to pay down debt for 5-6 years after the transaction. And given that Comcast was a highly...

Sounds like investors are happy for all media companies today. Fox up huge, Disney and TimeWarner both up strongly as well. Even Comcast is up... which normally wouldn't happen when you're expecting a massive debt fueled takeover to launch in the next 24 hours. Investors think the whole...

Yeah, if the DoJ had used a proper strategy, they would have used a similar consent decree as the Comcast-NBCU merger got in 2011; put 150+ restrictions/limitations on AT&T's use of the TW assets and force them to agree to net neutrality and arbitration for pay tv carriage for 7 years. Then...

I'm sure Iger will go big; the question is whether Disney shareholders will want as much dilution as could be needed to outbid Comcast here. The main reason this is tough for Disney is that the AT&T-TW merger was granted unconditionally; that means for the Murdochs and Fox shareholders, they...

Disney and Iger will stay in the hunt, but the question is how do they match a Comcast all-cash bid in the $60+ billion range? Every $5-10 billion in cash that Disney adds will result in a fall in their stock price, thus decreasing the value of their bid. Eventually, Fox shareholders will...

That's a fair point; though I'd guess that the TimeWarner leadership wants to close their AT&T merger as fast as possible. Another bid from somebody else would result in a 6-12 month longer timetable to get anti-trust approval, and their executives all have golden parachutes that cash in when...

The only companies in the US that can outbid AT&T for TimeWarner are the tech giants like Apple or Amazon. AT&T's current offer for TimeWarner is worth around $100+ billion including assumed debt. I don't see how anybody but Apple or Amazon could get into a bidding war with them. Disney and...

Yeah, I'd put Comcast as the heavy favorite to win the Fox assets. This AT&T-TW ruling is a clear greenlight to Comcast and the Murdochs that a Comcast bid should be able to pass muster. The markets are judging this result as well with Fox stock up hugely after hours and Comcast down.

Comcast wants the Fox assets more than TimeWarner. Fox assets include 30% of Hulu, 39% of Sky, Star India, and the RSNs. Those are much more important for Comcast than Turner, HBO, and Warner Bros.

Expected this ruling. If it was 6-10 years ago before Netflix/Amazon Prime/Youtube/Facebook, then I think AT&T would have lost. Huge bidding war begins now for the Fox assets.