News Disney and Fox come to terms -- announcement soon; huge IP acquisition

[Sirwalterraleigh]

they are not the same, one is Disney taking over park rights - which is a bit ridiculous to expect, the other is the added Marvel movie rights they will get in this deal

Yeah...just to clarify...I’m talking themepark “rights”...not ip acquisition.

If they buy fox...they get the media IP to X-men and fantastic four back...there’s no haggling.

They however would not get the themepark rights unless they play a ransom to Comcast. That’s Spider-Man, avengers, X-men, and fantastic four

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

But Marvel, Marvel Marvel....lol

He is talking about Star Wars. (Just to clarify)

Ask chartboy if Disney has a Star Wars problem on their hands? He and Kaze have been eluding/dodging the question on 10 threads for 6 weeks. Must be summer vacation🏖

 

[bartholomr4]

From Bloomberg:

The U.K. government will give its final ruling on 21st Century Fox Inc.’s 11.7 billion pound ($15.5 billion) bid for Sky Plc by July 12, a decision set to trigger a bidding contest with Comcast Corp. for Britain’s top pay-TV company.

Jeremy Wright, who became culture secretary on Monday as part of a shake-up by Prime Minister Theresa May, said he would stick to plans to announce a decision imminently. “I intend to keep to the timetable,” Wright said in a written statement to Parliament.

Wright’s predecessor, Matt Hancock, was on the verge of clearing the Fox-Sky deal before being moved to run Britain’s health ministry. Fox is waiting for the government decision before upping its offer for Sky, as it aims to beat a rival 22 billion pound approach from Comcast, according to people familiar with the matter. On a per-share basis, Comcast’s offer is currently at a 16 percent premium to Fox’s 10.75 pounds a share.

The tussle for Sky is part of a wider battle between Comcast and Walt Disney Co. for the bulk of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. Each is trying to add more movies and shows to take on streaming competitors Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. Murdoch has agreed to sell Fox’s entertainment assets to Disney, including its 39 percent stake in Sky, though Comcast is considering making another counteroffer for the Fox portfolio.

 

[Stripes]

From Bloomberg:

The U.K. government will give its final ruling on 21st Century Fox Inc.’s 11.7 billion pound ($15.5 billion) bid for Sky Plc by July 12, a decision set to trigger a bidding contest with Comcast Corp. for Britain’s top pay-TV company.

Jeremy Wright, who became culture secretary on Monday as part of a shake-up by Prime Minister Theresa May, said he would stick to plans to announce a decision imminently. “I intend to keep to the timetable,” Wright said in a written statement to Parliament.

Wright’s predecessor, Matt Hancock, was on the verge of clearing the Fox-Sky deal before being moved to run Britain’s health ministry. Fox is waiting for the government decision before upping its offer for Sky, as it aims to beat a rival 22 billion pound approach from Comcast, according to people familiar with the matter. On a per-share basis, Comcast’s offer is currently at a 16 percent premium to Fox’s 10.75 pounds a share.

The tussle for Sky is part of a wider battle between Comcast and Walt Disney Co. for the bulk of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. Each is trying to add more movies and shows to take on streaming competitors Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. Murdoch has agreed to sell Fox’s entertainment assets to Disney, including its 39 percent stake in Sky, though Comcast is considering making another counteroffer for the Fox portfolio.

Here we go!

A high Sky bid from Disney/Fox in my opinion would convince Comcast management to drop their pursuit of Fox completely. It's been 20 days since Disney made their $71 billion deal. There are two possibilities here:
1. Comcast comes back with a big bid in partnership with PE. The clock is ticking though, and it would have to be made by Monday at the latest.
2. They drop Fox and go after Sky with a very aggressive bid.

If Comcast announces they're dropping Fox, does their stock go up? If it does, they may consider using their stock as currency for a future Sky bid.

 

[bartholomr4]

Here we go!

A high Sky bid from Disney/Fox in my opinion would convince Comcast management to drop their pursuit of Fox completely. It's been 20 days since Disney made their $71 billion deal. There are two possibilities here:
1. Comcast comes back with a big bid in partnership with PE. The clock is ticking though, and it would have to be made by Monday at the latest.
2. They drop Fox and go after Sky with a very aggressive bid.

If Comcast announces they're dropping Fox, does their stock go up? If it does, they may consider using their stock as currency for a future Sky bid.

Roberts doesn't want to dilute his Stock position, which is why he has gone all cash so far. Also, once you issue stock, you have to have a shareholder vote. The vote requirement would take a great deal of time and introduce the SEC into the process. Roberts has boxed himself into the current structure, which is a huge benefit for the Disney team.

 

[seascape]

Here we go!

A high Sky bid from Disney/Fox in my opinion would convince Comcast management to drop their pursuit of Fox completely. It's been 20 days since Disney made their $71 billion deal. There are two possibilities here:
1. Comcast comes back with a big bid in partnership with PE. The clock is ticking though, and it would have to be made by Monday at the latest.
2. They drop Fox and go after Sky with a very aggressive bid.

If Comcast announces they're dropping Fox, does their stock go up? If it does, they may consider using their stock as currency for a future Sky bid.

If Comcast drops out of the bidding look for a jump in their stock price of minimum of 10%. It would be more but Wall Street still expects Roberts to buy someone else. Their stock was at $44 a share before all this bidding started.

 

[doctornick]

Has the Nasdaq returned to its dot-com highs yet? The internet was huge 20 years ago, but it was based on growth. Growth that over the past 20 years has pretty much played out - not exactly as people expected, but it's grown exponentially.

It eclipsed its high in 2015. About 50% above that. However, 50% growth over 18 years isn't a whole lot. Tech market in 2000 was massive.

Disney bought Cap Cities in January 1996. While the internet existed and was certainly being developed at that point in time, it seems pretty silly to "blame" Disney for not investing more in internet functionality as an alternative to acquiring ABC. I mean, people were still using Mosaic and the internet was largely text browsing at that point.

I mean, sure, Disney should have been more proactive with the internet then. So should pretty much every company in the world. But few really knew what it would become at that point.

 

[Rodan75]

Disney bought Cap Cities in January 1996. While the internet existed and was certainly being developed at that point in time, it seems pretty silly to "blame" Disney for not investing more in internet functionality as an alternative to acquiring ABC. I mean, people were still using Mosaic and the internet was largely text browsing at that point.

I mean, sure, Disney should have been more proactive with the internet then. So should pretty much every company in the world. But few really knew what it would become at that point.

and I think we are forgetting that Disney did invest in go.com and got caught up in the tech bubble.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Disney bought Cap Cities in January 1996. While the internet existed and was certainly being developed at that point in time, it seems pretty silly to "blame" Disney for not investing more in internet functionality as an alternative to acquiring ABC. I mean, people were still using Mosaic and the internet was largely text browsing at that point.

I mean, sure, Disney should have been more proactive with the internet then. So should pretty much every company in the world. But few really knew what it would become at that point.

It’s a matter of focus. I’m not suggesting Disney needed to spend $19 billion on the internet. The company, going back to the Hyperion Avenue day, grew because it reinvested in and continuously improved self.

CapCities really took Disney off the ball and so much began to suffer at the company. For example, would DCA have been built if Michael were so preoccupied with fixing ABC? Or would the EuroDisney situation been resolved then and WDSP wouldn’t have been built? Would Eisner have made the pricy mistake of hiring Ovitz to do... whatever he did? Or would Disney become a serious player in the video game space? Or the end of the second golden age of Disney Animation?

Business units sustained damage because Disney acquired CapCities and that “ancient history” impacts where we are today.

Need we be reminded where the current CEO came from?

 

[the.dreamfinder]

and I think we are forgetting that Disney did invest in go.com and got caught up in the tech bubble.

 

[larryz]

Need we be reminded where the current CEO came from?

 

[Rodan75]

I do think you have an interesting point on CapCities, I’m just not sure that Disney would have survived as an independent company without it. (Deja vu?).

 

[the.dreamfinder]

I do think you have an interesting point on CapCities, I’m just not sure that Disney would have survived as an independent company without it. (Deja vu?).

Hard to say. That point was raised earlier in thread back in Nov-Dec.

I think a “core Disney” company would be more resilient than any existing American media company. TWDC has lots of low hanging fruit to take advantage of that a company of its size with legacy assets wouldn’t consider worth the effort.

I don’t agree with everything in this article, I’d position it much differently, but this is the kind of thing Disney could never do, especially if the Fox deal goes through.

https://redef.com/original/disney-as-a-service-pt-ii-and-the-future-of-the-house-of-mouse

 

[Stripes]

BREAKING: Fox has increased their Sky bid to £14/share. This compares to their initial £10.75, and Comcast's £12.50.

 

[seascape]

BREAKING: Fox has increased their Sky bid to £14/share. This compares to their initial £10.75, and Comcast's £12.50.

The amazing thing is is this will not be the final price. The UK board still has to approve it. While this is 32% higher than Fox's original offer it is slightly less than the 36% increase in stock price Disney offered for Fox. Plus if Comcasy actually comes back with an offer of $49 a share for Fox that will be another 29% increase so Comcast would have to offer £18.09 or $42.57 billion. Can Comcast really afford to bid that much because they legally have to buy Sky at that price if they get Fox.

 

[winstongator]

Disney bought Cap Cities in January 1996. While the internet existed and was certainly being developed at that point in time, it seems pretty silly to "blame" Disney for not investing more in internet functionality as an alternative to acquiring ABC. I mean, people were still using Mosaic and the internet was largely text browsing at that point.

I mean, sure, Disney should have been more proactive with the internet then. So should pretty much every company in the world. But few really knew what it would become at that point.

I came into the convo late, so missed a lot of the context. I’m also an electrical engineer so was working on things or at least had friends working on things internet related 20 years ago. The internet was something to embrace, but I believe companies should focus on their core competencies. AOL-time Warner was a disaster. I don’t blame Disney or any entrenched company for its internet strategy in the late 90’s. Look at Disney vs Comcast now. One is developing its own streaming service and the other is clinging to an old dying antiquated model. I might have preferred that to happen 5 years ago, but there still aren’t many other content companies doing that. The streaming service is also a massive shot at Comcast’s cable business. If Disney should be worried about ESPN, comcast gets much more of their profit from cable tv and that might go to zero revenue.

 

[bartholomr4]

CNBC is reporting that COMCAST is focused on Sky now, as every increase in its offer for 21CF will automatically result in a corresponding increase in its bid for SKY. It is starting to look like best case for COMCAST is winning 61% of SKY. For COMCAST to get an counter offer for 21CF and all of the proxy materials out prior to the July 27th Shareholder meetings, they will have to have their bid public and proxy material mailed by next Monday.

It would be interesting to see what Disney will do with the 39% of Sky which comes with 21CF. Would this become a bargaining chip which would allow the two companies (Disney and Comcast) to trade a number of crossing assets (or surplus from a Disney perspective), and settle long simmering issues...... When Comcast won Sunday Night Football and wanted Chris Collins and Al Michaels, Disney agreed to a deal that included a number of things including rights to Oswald the Rabbit..... I can see a scenario where at the end of all of this, there will be similar horse trading....

 

[LieutLaww]

Disney want Sky just as badly as Comcast does, they want the access to Europe and beyond that it gives.

 

[Stripes]

I'll tell you one thing, Comcast just can't catch a break. I'm kinda starting to feel bad for them...but not really.

 

[larryz]

I'll tell you one thing, Comcast just can't catch a break. I'm kinda starting to feel bad for them...but not really.

Karma's a b*tch.