Comcast Confirms It Is Preparing Bid for 21st Century Fox, Threatening Disney Deal

By Austen Hufford

Cable giant Comcast Corp. said it is "in advanced stages of preparing" a higher, all-cash offer for the entertainment assets that 21st Century Fox has agreed to sell to Walt Disney Co. for $52.4 billion in stock.

Earlier this month, reports surfaced, including in The Wall Street Journal, that Comcast was considering making a play to break up that deal and had lined up around $60 billion in financing for an all-cash offer.

Comcast said Wednesday that while no final decision has been made, the work to finance the all-cash offer "is well advanced."

21st Century Fox and Wall Street Journal-parent News Corp share common ownership.

The assets Comcast and Disney are seeking to purchase include the Twentieth Century Fox TV and film studio, cable networks and international properties.

Shares of Comcast fell 1.6% in pre-market trading as shares of Disney declined 0.6%. Shares of 21st Century Fox were up 0.5%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 23, 2018 08:40 ET (12:40 GMT)

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