Stay UpdatedTBI Weekly: Disney may win the Fox race
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This week, the bidding war between Disney and Comcast for Fox assets got all the more valuable as the mouse house upped its offering to $71.3 billion (£53.7 billion).
The move may well be the final blow to Comcast, with 21st Century Fox describing the bid as “superior”.
“We are extremely proud of the businesses we have built at 21st Century Fox, and firmly believe that this combination with Disney will unlock even more value for shareholders as the new Disney continues to set the pace at a dynamic time for our industry,” said 21st Century Fox chairman, Rupert Murdoch.
A range of analysts predict that this will be Disney’s winning move. Media expert Porter Bibb has told CNBC that “Disney is the future”, while another investor said the company is “favourite in the horse race”.
Erick Reimer, of ETF investing, said that these favourable reviews are down to the fact that the cost is becoming too high for Comcast to compete. Furthermore, he explained that television and movie production segments account for half of Disney’s earnings and Fox’s counterparts are similar in size, making their merger a major boost to Disney’s numbers overall.
He also adds that Fox’s still-vast intellectual property assets would boost Disney’s current library significantly, and create a variety of new opportunities for synergies, crossovers, and other content creation. With Disney launching its streaming service soon, Fox’s content library will be essential to its success.
Also in the news…
TV2 in Hungary and Kanal D in Turkey have both secured deals to make local versions of Twofour’s What Would Your Kid Do?
Red Arrow Studios International has inked new scripted format sales across CEE for its comedy series Match and crime procedural Einstein
Netflix has acquired Korean series Mr. Sunshine for a July premiere
Eccho Rights will be previewing two new Turkish dramas as part of its line up at NATPE in Budapest named Dreaming of You and New Bride
Endemol Shine Group’s All Together Now has landed its first European deals, with both Endemol Shine Germany and Endemol Shine France being commissioned to produce versions of the show in their respective markets
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