Rupert Murdoch surprised the world this past December when he announced he would be selling his company 21st Century Fox to Disney for a massive $52.4 billion. As fans eagerly await the completion and approval of the purchase of 21st Century Fox by Disney, a new report from
The New York Times reveals how dead set Comcast was on out-bidding Disney.
Details of Comcast's proposal were disclosed for the first time this week in a 456-page filing with the Securitiies and Exchange Commission. The filing revealed that Comcast offered a 16 percent higher per-share offer, partially a result of the company refusing to offer any protections in the event of a regulatory rejection. Rather than the cost of $29.54 per share that Disney ultimately paid, Comcast proposed $34.41 per share last November.
The SEC filing indicates that Rupert Murdoch and associates were extremely interested in Comcast's bid and were taking the offer seriously until Comcast refused to agree to a breakup fee in the event that the Department of Justice rejected the deal. Disney on the other hand offered a $2.5 billion breakup fee.
Furthermore, Comcast reportedly had unacceptable plans for divesting any assets that might have been singled out by antitrust regulators, something which was very problematic for Murdoch who ultimately felt that siding with Comcast "
carried a qualitatively higher level of regulatory risk, including the possibility of an outright prohibition, than such a transaction with Disney.” Murdoch also believed that Disney was a more strategic fit for Fox assets and Disney stock was more valuable than that of Comcast.
The SEC filing also revealed that Disney CEO Bob Iger first began to discussion the possibility of an acquisition of 21st Century Fox at a meeting with Murdoch on August 9th of last year. This meeting was then followed up with a phone call on August 29th, with serious discussions continuing until October 27th when Murdoch rejected an offer from Disney for $23.00 a share, 40 percent of which was to be paid in cash and the rest in Disney stock. The two companies however came back to the table a couple weeks later and, with an improved offer, we know that the rest of the story is history...
Are you glad that Murdoch sold his company to Disney rather than Comcast? Are you looking forward to the Disney/Fox deal being approved? Be sure to share your thoughts in the usual spot below!