CMCSA Comcast Corporation

By Austen Hufford 

Comcast Corp. dropped its pursuit of 21st Century Fox Inc.'s entertainment assets, clearing the way for rival Walt Disney Co. to acquire key pieces of Rupert Murdoch's media empire after the two sides dueled in recent weeks.

Comcast, though, said Thursday that it was still pursuing European pay-TV giant Sky PLC. Fox already owns 39% of Sky and is vying to consolidate ownership.

Comcast said it would submit a new offer for Fox's entertainment assets after its earlier $65 billion all-cash offer was topped by Disney, which bid $71.3 billion in cash and stock.

The cable giant's withdrawal ends a high-stakes chess match among some of media's most powerful players, as they position themselves for the decline of the U.S. pay TV industry and try to stock up on assets that could help them compete against tech giants like Netflix Inc.

Assuming Disney wins all necessary approvals--it already secured clearance from the U.S. Justice Department--it will wind up with assets including the Twentieth Century Fox film and TV studio, a controlling stake in streaming-video service Hulu, and international properties including Star India.

Last week Comcast raised its offer for Sky to GBP14.75 a share, valuing the company at $34 billion. That is a 5% premium to an offer Fox announced earlier and 18% above Comcast's first bid. Comcast said its latest offer was recommended by Sky's independent directors.

Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger has called Sky a crown jewel of his $71 billion pursuit of 21st Century Fox but will now have to decide how hard to fight for it, as some on Wall Street are arguing that the European television company isn't key to Disney's future.

Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 19, 2018 09:12 ET (13:12 GMT)

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