Comcast drops bid for 21st Century Fox, leaving entertainment powerhouse in the hands of Disney
Source: The Washington Post
By Tony Romm
July 19 at 9:19 AM
Comcast on Thursday said it would drop its bid to buy key portions of 21st Century Fox, ending a bidding war between the Philadelphia-based cable giant and the network’s likely new owner, The Walt Disney Company.
In a statement, Comcast added that it would instead focus its efforts on its $34 billion campaign to purchase Sky, a European pay-TV service -- and one that 21st Century Fox also has been chasing.
Comcast and Disney had squared off over Rupert Murdoch’s entertainment empire since June, marking the latest round of media consolidation under the Trump administration. Comcast believed it could contend for 21st Century Fox after the U.S. government failed to stop another mega-merger, AT&T’s bid to buy Time Warner, from proceeding.
But Disney long appeared to have an upper-hand in the war over 21st Century Fox. In June, the Justice Department also blessed the deal on the condition that the combined companies sold off Fox’s 22 regional sports networks, which compete with Disney-owned ESPN.
This story is developing...
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/07/19/comcast-drops-bid-st-century-fox-leaving-entertainment-powerhouse-hands-disney/
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