The Battle For Fox Continues

by: James A. Barnes

Variety reports that Comcast is awaiting two deadlines to outbid and seal the deal on purchasing 20th Century Fox.

D.C. federal judge Richard Leon has set his ruling for the government's anti-trust trial against the merger between AT&T and Time Warner on June 12th. The judge's ruling will give us a better idea on whether or not a Fox merger can even happen. If the deal with Disney goes through, 20th Century Fox will sell the 20th Century Fox studio, FX Networks, regional sports cablers, and National Geographic Worldwide channels for $52.4B.

The 2nd deadline is on June 14th when European Union regulators will weigh in on Comcast’s pending $31B bid to buy out Satcaster Sky. Disney is hoping to inherit the controlling stake in Sky if the merger goes through. EU has until June 14th to approve the potential purchase or open up a formal inquiry that could take months, according to a report by Reuters.

Variety also reported that Comcast has also been inquiring with bankers about the potential for financing of an all-cash bid for Disney. Comcast is said to be very optimistic on the Judge's ruling for the Time Warner and AT&T deal, which would open the doors for more mergers like this one.