Comcast, Disney locked in battle over 21st Century Fox assets

Comcast Corp. is ready to go to war with Walt Disney Co.

The cable giant confirmed on Wednesday that it may make an offer for a wide swath of 21st Century Fox Inc.’s entertainment assets, a business that Disney has already agreed to buy for roughly $52 billion.

The move threatens to escalate a bidding contest that’s already underway over Fox’s European satellite business – and further complicate a global game of M&A chess that’s being waged by the biggest media companies.

Comcast “is considering, and is in advanced stages of preparing, an offer for the business that Fox has agreed to sell Disney,” the company said in a statement. “Any offer for Fox would be allcash and at a premium to the value of the current all-share offer from Disney.”

While no final decision has been made, Comcast said its work to finance the offer – and preparation to file key regulatory statements – is “well advanced.” A person familiar with the discussions said earlier this month that Comcast was mulling such a step. Comcast was talking to investment banks about obtaining bridge financing for the all-cash deal, the person said at the time.

A counterbid would roil a plan by Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger to bolster the company’s dominance in entertainment. Fox agreed in December to sell its film and TV studios, cable channels including FX and National Geographic and other assets to Burbank, California-based Disney in an all-stock deal. Comcast said at the time that it “never got the level of engagement needed to make a definitive offer.”