Disney News

Category: Fox

  • Comcast Tops Disney’s Bid For Fox With $65 Billion All-Cash Offer

    Comcast Tops Disney’s Bid For Fox With $65 Billion All-Cash Offer

    The bidding war for 21st Century Fox has started. Today, Comcast made a $65 billion all-cash offer for the bulk of 21st Century Fox’s TV and studio assets, topping a previous $52.4 billion bid made by Walt Disney Company.

    If successful, the move would bring together Comcast’s NBC broadcast network and the Universal movie studio with 20th Century Fox, the FX cable network and the regional Fox sports networks. The offer is valued at $35.00 per share in cash, representing a premium of approximately 19% to the value of Disney’s all-stock offer, according to Comcast.

    “We have long admired what the Murdoch family has built at Twenty-First Century Fox,” Comcast CEO Brian Roberts wrote in a letter to Fox’s controlling Murdoch family, telling 21st Century Fox Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch and his sons Lachlan and James that Comcast “would be the right strategic home” for the parts of the company that are for sale.

    The financial bidding war comes just a day after a U.S. District Judge gave his blessing for AT&T’s to by Time Warner, without any conditions on the $85.4 billion deal. That approval signaled that Comcast might have less trouble getting the deal approved than previously expected.

    If Disney comes out on top of the bidding war, the acquisition could cement Disney CEO Bob Iger’s legacy. Sealing a deal for Fox would cap off a slew of massive acquisitions under his aegis at Disney, which include a $4 billion buy of Marvel Entertainment in 2009; a $4 billion purchase of Lucasfilm in 2009; and $2.58 billion over three years for BAMTech, the streaming-video unit that is meant to power Disney’s various subscription-based video outlets.

    But a deal would benefit Comcast similarly, adding new strength to its Universal movie production operations, its NBC Sports unit, and its cable programming operations.

    Comcast’s $65 billion all-cash offer for Fox’s entertainment businesses is higher than the $60 billion that pundits had been predicting. Experts are expecting Disney to make a counter offer.

    The battle for Twenty-First Century Fox comes as traditional entertainment companies try to amass more properties to compete better with technology companies such as Netflix for viewers’ attention — and dollars.

  • Comcast Challenging Disney For Fox Assets With Estimated $60 Billion Bid

    Comcast Challenging Disney For Fox Assets With Estimated $60 Billion Bid

    You may want to get some pop corn and get ready to watch the show, because the battle for Fox isn’t over. Comcast is jumping back into the race for Fox with Estimated $60 Billion offer.

    On Wednesday, Comcast confirmed that it’s in the “advanced stages” of making an offer. The company provided very few details other than it would it be an all-cash offer. Disney offered Fox a $52.4 billion all-stock deal late last year, and shareholders are expected to vote on the offer this summer. Comcast is hoping to sneak in with this all-cash offer ahead of that vote.

    Last year, even though it exceeded Disney’s offer, Fox’s board rejected Comcast’s original bid, because they believed it was more risky with regulators to get approval. Now it seems that another major deal — Time Warner and AT&T — might actually go through. If it does, Comcast could potentially acquire parts of Fox without alarming regulators.

    The Fox assets — which range from international pay-TV distribution to cable networks and a stake in streaming giant Hulu — are some of the most-prized entertainment properties likely to come on the market for some time, and the Murdoch family’s willingness to sell these assets has come as a surprise to many in the media industry.

    The rare acquisition opportunity, combined with the need to significantly expand overseas and acquire new distribution and content, is adding a dimension of urgency for both Comcast and Disney.

  • Disney Filing Discloses Fox’s Reasons For Rejecting Comcast Bid

    Disney Filing Discloses Fox’s Reasons For Rejecting Comcast Bid

    In a filing made by Walt Disney Co with the Securities and Exchange Commission today, in their efforts to acquire Fox’s film and TV assets, we now know Fox’s reasons for rejecting Comcast’s offer.

    Walt Disney Co announced the purchased most of 21st Century Fox’s assets back in December in a deal worth $52.4 billion. At the time it was well-known that Comcast Corp had also been bidding on the assets, but they eventually bowed out.

    In documents filed with the SEC today, Disney disclosed Fox’s reasons for rejecting the rival offer without disclosing the bidder.

    The documents state that Fox rejected a deal with another entity — that multiple sources have identified as Comcast Corp — due to higher regulatory risks.

  • 7 of the 10 Worldwide Highest-Grossing Films Now Owned By Disney

    7 of the 10 Worldwide Highest-Grossing Films Now Owned By Disney

    Disney is no stranger to churning out blockbuster hits and they already have several films ranked in the top ten worldwide highest grossing films of all time.  But now after buying 20th Century Fox, Disney owns seven of the top ten films now!

    Disney has been cracking the top 10 worldwide box office list for quite a while now, but even with Star Wars: the Force Awakens they couldn’t quite pass Titanic or Avatar to get that coveted number one spot.  So perhaps an added bonus of the recent purchase of Fox is that the number one and number two highest grossing films of all time come with it. If you can’t beat ’em…  Buy ’em…

    Disney is sure to have a few more films joining the list soon with Star Wars: The Last Jedi opening Thursday evening and Avengers: Infinity War opening in May, although it’s likely if they do make the list they will just be knocking out other Disney films which currently hold those spots.  Below you can take a look at the Top Ten Worldwide Highest Grossing films.

    1 Avatar $2,787,965,087 2009 (20th Century Fox – Now Disney)
    A paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
    Director: James Cameron
    Writer: James Cameron 

    2 Titanic film currently playing $2,187,425,379 1997 (20th Century Fox – Now Disney)
    A seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.
    Director: James Cameron
    Writer: James Cameron

    3 Star Wars: The Force Awakens $2,068,223,624 2015 (Disney)
    Three decades after the Empire’s defeat, a new threat arises in the militant First Order. Stormtrooper defector Finn and spare parts scavenger Rey are caught up in the Resistance’s search for the missing Luke Skywalker.
    Director: J.J. Abrams
    Writers: Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams

    4 Jurassic World $1,671,713,208 2015 (Universal)
    A new theme park, built on the original site of Jurassic Park, creates a genetically modified hybrid dinosaur, which escapes containment and goes on a killing spree.
    Director: Colin Trevorrow
    Writers: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver

    5 The Avengers $1,518,812,988 2012 (Disney)
    Earth’s mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are going to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity.
    Director: Joss Whedon
    Writers: Joss Whedon (screenplay), Zak Penn

    6 Furious 7 $1,516,045,911 2015 (Universal)
    Deckard Shaw seeks revenge against Dominic Toretto and his family for his comatose brother.
    Director: James Wan
    Writers: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson

    7 Avengers: Age of Ultron $1,405,403,694 2015 (Disney)
    When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to jump-start a dormant peacekeeping program called Ultron, things go horribly wrong and it’s up to Earth’s mightiest heroes to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plan.
    Director: Joss Whedon
    Writers: Joss Whedon, Stan Lee

    8 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 $1,341,511,219 2011 (Warner Bros.)
    Harry, Ron, and Hermione search for Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes in their effort to destroy the Dark Lord as the final battle rages on at Hogwarts.
    Director: David Yates
    Writers: Steve Kloves (screenplay), J.K. Rowling (novel)

    9 Frozen $1,290,000,000 2013 (Disney)
    When the newly crowned Queen Elsa accidentally uses her power to turn things into ice to curse her home in infinite winter, her sister, Anna, teams up with a mountain man, his playful reindeer, and a snowman to change the weather condition.
    Directors: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
    Writers: Jennifer Lee, Hans Christian Andersen

    10 Beauty and the Beast $1,263,521,126 2017 (Disney)
    An adaptation of the fairy tale about a monstrous-looking prince and a young woman who fall in love.
    Director: Bill Condon
    Writers: Stephen Chbosky, Evan Spiliotopoulos

    With more Star Wars and Marvel Films to come they are sure to keep a hold on the top ten for quite a while, and now with control of the Avatar sequels and the rest of the vast 20th Century Fox library they are sure to continue their box office dominance.

  • Disney Buys 21st Century Fox for $52 Billion

    Disney Buys 21st Century Fox for $52 Billion

    Walt Disney Co. will purchase 21st Century Fox in deal that brings an end to era of the ‘Big Six’ studios. Disney Now takes ownership of one of the United States’ largest movie studios in a deal that solidifies their position as media super giant. With this deal Disney now owns seven of the top ten worldwide highest grossing movies of all time.

    Founded in 1935 with the merger of Twentieth Century Pictures and Fox Films, the studio was in its earlier years known for stars like Henry Fonda and Shirley Temple and films including “Gentleman’s Agreement,” “The Sound of Music” and the Liz Taylor-Richard Burton epic “Cleopatra,” which became a cinematic icon but nearly bankrupted the studio during its troubled production. In 1977 it released “Star Wars,” the beginning of a relationship with George Lucas that would span six films and generate $4.6 billion at the box office.

    There was so much more at stake here for Disney than the obvious rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four brands. They now finally have the distribution rights for the original Star Wars trilogy and prequel trilogy. Most of those rights reverted back to Disney in 2020, but the original 1977 film’s rights would have remained at Fox.

    Another bonus is the Avatar franchise. With an entire land devoted to the franchise holding ownership over it was of great importance to the company. James Cameron’s Avatar is a potentially massive film franchise that Disney already has a vested interest in seeing succeed. It means potentially huge business not just at the movie theater, but also when it comes to merchandise and theme park success.

    Disney now get its hands on the FX channel. And of course the vast, impressive, lucrative library of Fox movies and TV series from past and present, to add to their upcoming streaming service and, probably, to deny those movies and series to Netflix, along with the Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm properties.

    Disney also gets Fox’s 30 percent stake in Hulu. Disney already has a 30 percent stake in Hulu, so that arrangement now gives the company majority ownership of the streaming platform. And as Disney prepares to launch its own streaming services in 2019, it could become an actual contender against Netflix by combining its existing content with Fox’s movie, television and sports content.

    The Murdoch family will continue to maintain ownership over the sports and news divisions while Disney would get the studio rights to everything on the film side according to the report.

    Only time will tell, but it seems Bob Iger has positioned Disney once again in a pivotal position in the market.