Fox Chairman James Murdoch Tight-Lipped About Disney and Comcast Merger Talks
“There’s nothing to add to that, other than the nothing that we’ve said so far,” Rupert Murdoch’s son says at UBS conference
Tony Maglio | December 5, 2017 @ 9:14 AM
Last Updated: December 5, 2017 @ 9:58 AM
Getty Images
Fox boss James Murdoch declined an opportunity to speak about his company’s talks to combine some of its film and TV assets with either Disney or Comcast, a pair of possible mergers which picked up more attention on Tuesday following a CNBC report.
At Tuesday’s UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, Murdoch shot down a moderator’s question about the “elephant in the room.”
“It would be wrong to comment on market speculation. We always make a policy of not commenting on market speculation, what’s out there in the press or wherever,” he said.
“So, no, there’s nothing to add to that, other than the nothing that we’ve said so far,” he continued, before suggesting that the company was open to exploring all potential deals.
“I would said, look, when we’re running the business — the way we think about the business is really about value, and about long-term value,” he said. “The extent [to which] we change the business as we have over the last number of years — changing the shape of the business is always going to look at what is going to create the most value to all of our shareholders.”
Disney and 21st Century Fox are close to a $60 billion merger deal, according to CNBC’s David Faber. That dollar amount is an approximate enterprise value of the assets involved in the potential agreement.
If this thing goes through, Disney would likely get Fox’s film studio, its cable entertainment networks like FX and Nat Geo, the company’s regional sports networks, India’s Star, Fox’s Sky and Hulu holdings, as well as Endemol Shine Group, among other pieces.
The Mouse House would not get Fox’s broadcast network, Fox Sports or Fox News.
Faber reported that the deal could be announced as early as next week.
The “Squawk on the Street” co-anchor said that Fox is still in talks with Comcast — the parent of his home CNBC — but the conversation with Disney has gone “far deeper and further.”
Disney and Fox did not immediately respond to TheWrap‘s request for comment on the latest news from their ongoing discussions.
10 Biggest Billion-Dollar Entertainment Deals in 2016 (Photos)
Media and entertainment dealmakers returned in full force this year after a quiet 2015, as there were nine mergers and acquisitions valued at more than $1 billion -- from Chinese buyers such as the Dalian Wanda Group to AT&T, which agreed to acquire Time Warner for $85 billion. Here's a rundown of the biggest.
Various
10. Disney buys a minority stake in BAMTech
Price tag: $1 billion
In August, the Mouse House announced that it paid $1 billion for a 33 percent stake in streaming video technology company BAMTech, which was spun off from Major League Baseball’s MLB Advanced Media. Disney plans to use BAMTech’s technology to launch a standalone ESPN streaming service – but without the same content as linear ESPN.
The real estate and entertainment conglomerate owned by China’s richest man continues to snap up showbiz companies by the billion, acquiring the Golden Globes and American Music Awards producer for a cool $1 billion earlier this month.
Dick Clark Productions
8. Rovi acquires TiVo
Price tag: $1.1 billion
Video technology firm Rovi Corp., bought the pioneering live-TV recording tech company for $1.1 billion in a deal that was finalized in September. After the deal was complete, Rovi adopted the better-known TiVo name.
Getty Images
7. AMC Theatres buys Carmike Cinemas
Price tag: $1.2 billion
Wanda-owned AMC Theatres acquired Carmike, the U.S.’ fourth-largest exhibitor, forming the biggest theater chain in the country with more than 600 theaters. That surpasses Regal Entertainment, which operates 565 locations.
AMC/Carmike
6. AMC Theatres buys Odeon & UCI Cinemas
Price tag: $1.2 billion
AMC also added Odeon & UCI Cinemas, Europe's biggest chain, to its ever-expanding suite of cinemas. AMC will rename the company to Odeon Cinemas Group and maintain its London headquarters.
AMC/Odeon & UCI
5. Dalian Wanda Group buys Legendary Entertainment
Price tag: $3.5 billion
Wanda was responsible for the first megadeal of 2016, when it acquired the “Jurassic World” production company for $3.5 billion. Legendary lost $500 million in 2015, but its action-packed fare such as “Warcraft” is popular in China’s fast-growing movie market.
Legendary/Wanda
4. Comcast's NBCUniversal buys DreamWorks
Price tag: $3.8 billion
The blowout success of animated films like “Zootopia” and “Finding Dory” was one of the stories of 2016, and NBCU doubled down on the genre by adding the “Kung Fu Panda” and “Shrek” studio to its fold.
DreamWorks
3. Lionsgate merges with Starz
Price tag: $4.4 billion
The “Hunger Games” studio and premium cable channel announced their merger plans in June, a year after telecom billionaire and major Starz shareholder John Malone bought a stake in Lionsgate. Starz will become an independently run subsidiary of Lionsgate once the deal is officially approved.
Lionsgate/Starz
2. Verizon buys Yahoo
Price tag: $4.8 billion – or maybe less
The embattled Internet 1.0 company finally found its lifeboat, selling its core business to Verizon for $4.8 billion in July, eight years after rejecting a $45 billion bid from Microsoft. But after the extent of Yahoo’s 2014 hack was revealed, Verizon was pushing for a $1 billion discount, and has been taking a second look at the deal.
Verizon/Yahoo
1. AT&T agrees to acquire Time Warner
Price tag: $85.4 billion
AT&T agreed to buy Time Warner, combining two century-old companies to create a content and distribution powerhouse in the biggest media deal since the ill-fated 2000 AOL-Time Warner merger. One caveat: Donald Trump, who has been an outspoken critic of Time Warner’s CNN, had threatened to block the deal. However, a Wall Street-friendly Republican Congress could provide a smoother path.
AT&T/Time Warner
1 of 11
Rewind 2016: From China’s Dalian Wanda Group to AT&T, deep-pocketed buyers were chasing content all year
Media and entertainment dealmakers returned in full force this year after a quiet 2015, as there were nine mergers and acquisitions valued at more than $1 billion -- from Chinese buyers such as the Dalian Wanda Group to AT&T, which agreed to acquire Time Warner for $85 billion. Here's a rundown of the biggest.
Various
Disney
