Comcast has made clear its intentions for 21st Century Fox by tabling a $65 billion bid for the majority of the Murdoch company’s assets including Sky.
It says the “superior offer” represents a 19% premium on the offer made last December by Disney. A prior offer by Comcast had already been rejected by the Murdochs.
In a letter addressed to Rupert, Lachlan and James Murdoch, Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast said: “We have long admired what the Murdoch family has built at Twenty-First Century Fox. After our meetings last year, we came away convinced that the 21CF businesses to be sold are highly complementary to ours, and that our company would be the right strategic home for them.”
In a further attempt to ease the bid through Comcast, which also owns NBC Universal, would offer the same regulatory concessions already agreed by Disney.
That bid will be voted on by Fox on July 10th, which has said it will review the Comcast offer.
21st Century Fox will separate the Fox Broadcasting network and stations, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FS1, FS2 and Big Ten Network into a newly listed company that will be spun off to its shareholders.
