A few weeks ago we were all shocked by the idea of Fox the owners of Fantastic Four/X-Men, and Time Warner owners of all of the DC characters merging into one company. That would put three major superhero teams in one company, even stranger would be the mix of DC/Marvel heroes. Some liked the idea, thinking that Fox might give their Marvel heroes back to Disney, and some hated it because of how Fox has treated the X-Men. And a few even suggested the idea of an X-Men versus Justice League story. Either way as far as I now no one has ever owned the rights to heroes from both sides of DC and Marvel. The result was bound to be something different.
But that time has still yet to come. Rupert Murdoch has given up trying to buy out Time Warner after his offer of 75-80 billion dollars was refused. yesterday chief executive of Time Warner Jeffrey Bewkes recieved the following email,
“On behalf of our board and senior management team, I am writing to inform you that we are withdrawing our offer to acquire Time Warner, effective immediately.
Sincerely, Rupert Murdoch.”
Below is an excerpt from the New York Times detailing the specifics as to why the merger did not go through,
Fox has insisted that it intended its offer to be seen as friendly. The company’s president and chief operating officer, Chase Carey, first presented the $85-a-share bid to Mr. Bewkes in June.
But from the start, Time Warner treated the advance as anything but friendly. Mr. Bewkes rejected the offer categorically in a terse letter to Mr. Murdoch, and then refused to engage in any conversations about a possible deal. Time Warner went so far as to protect itself against a hostile takeover by changing its bylaws to remove a provision allowing stockholders to call a special board meeting
Fox’s executives were surprised by the vehemence of Time Warner’s opposition. Perhaps just as surprising was the reaction from Fox’s own shareholders. Shares in the company have fallen 11 percent since Mr. Murdoch first took his bid public, even as 21st Century Fox executives sought to convince investors and analysts that they would remain disciplined and not bid too much. Fox Class A shares, which traded at $35.19 before the bid was disclosed, closed at $31.30 Tuesday, then rose more than 8 percent in after-hours trading once the company withdrew its offer. Time Warner had made clear that the price to even begin talks was high, with people close to the company suggesting that Fox would need to raise its bid to more than $100 a share.
It is unclear whether Time Warner was simply engaging in the usual deal-making gamesmanship or if it really was determined to remain independent. The company took pains to suggest the latter in its public statement after Fox’s withdrawal on Tuesday.
“Time Warner is well positioned for success with our iconic assets, including the world’s leading premium television brand, the world’s strongest ad-supported cable network group and the world’s largest film and television studio,” it said. “We thank our stockholders for their continued support.
So now that the short lived prospect of the Fox Marvel characters going back to Marvel Studios or a Justice League vs X-Men movie is gone, what do you think?
Was this the right move for both the DC and Fox Marvel characters, or would the merger have done nothing at all?