Comcast drops bid for Fox assets, leaving Disney in pole position

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Comcast Corp said on Monday it had abandoned its bid for most of the assets of Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc, leaving Walt Disney Co as the sole suitor in pursuit of the 40-billion-plus-US-dollar deal.

Comcast, the biggest cable provider in the United States, said in a statement on Monday that its discussions with Fox had ended.

“When a set of assets like Fox’s becomes available, it is our responsibility to evaluate if there is a strategic fit that could benefit our company and our shareholders,” Comcast said. “That is what we tried to do and we are no longer engaged in the review of those assets. We never got the level of engagement needed to make a definitive offer.”

The assets in question would have expanded Comcast’s international footprint through ownership of Sky and Star.

Disney did not immediately respond to request for comment. A Fox representative declined to comment.

Any potential deal will follow the U.S. Department of Justice’s decision last month to sue to block AT&T Inc’s 85.4-billion-US-dollar deal to buy Time Warner Inc.

Comcast shares were up 1.5 percent in after-hours trading, while Disney shares were up 0.2 percent and Fox shares fell 1.3 percent.

Source(s): Reuters