21st Century Fox’s stock is up on Tuesday following the approval of AT&T’s buyout of Time Warner, with investors eying a bidding war for the studio between Disney and Comcast.
Fox’s stock jumped more than 7 percent in the first hour of trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.55 per share.
Fox’s stock is rising following the AT&T-Time Warner deal’s approval (via Google)
Wall Street is betting on a battle for Fox after Comcast confirmed last month that it is preparing an “all-cash” offer to beat Disney’s bid. The Mouse House offered $52.4 billion in stock last December to acquire most of Fox’s properties — including its film and TV studios and much of its non-broadcast television business.
It is widely expected that Comcast will formally submit its bid sometime within the next 24 to 48 hours. Comcast’s bid will likely be around 25-30 percent higher than Disney’s, according to multiple analysts, which would make it around $65 million.
The AT&T-Time Warner deal’s approval has investors and analysts looking at a suddenly frothy market for mergers and acquisitions, with media giants less concerned their deals will be thwarted by government regulators.
It’s easy to see why Disney CEO Bob Iger won’t let Fox go without a fight. Disney is preparing to roll out its own streaming service next year, and infusing it with a bevy of Fox content, including franchises like “Deadpool,” “X-Men,” and “The Simpsons” would help entice customers. ESPN, a Disney property, would also bolster its budding streaming service by adding Fox’s string of regional sports networks.
“Iger will pull out the lightsabers to protect Fox,” Eric Schiffer, CEO of The Patriarch Organization and chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, told TheWrap. “Iger would rather lose Mickey Mouse’s right arm than lose Fox to Comcast.”
Shares of Disney were up 2 percent to about $106.80 on Tuesday morning, and Comcast was down 1.3 percent to about $32 a share.
Tim Baysinger contributed to this report.
17 Times 'The Simpsons' Predicted the Future (Photos)
"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to U.S. beating Sweden for an Olympic gold medal in curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedy series got it right.
Lady Gaga
On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," Lady Gaga is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.
Fox
2016 Nobel Prize Winner
In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and, sure enough, in 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart were announced as joint winners of the prize.
Fox
Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack
In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)," magicians in a Siegfried and Roy-like show got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.
In 2003, Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.
Fox
Arnold Palmer
On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer joke... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.
Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to “Arnold Palmer” his pal Lenny.
“Arnold Palmer Lenny?” Marge responds. “You’re going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?”
He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.
Fox
Faulty Voting Machine
During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when votes cast for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.
In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but... his vote went to McCain instead.
Fox
Higgs Boson
In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer writes out an equation on a chalkboard which, if solved, “you get the mass of a Higgs boson that’s only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," says Simon Singh, science author.
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Horse Meat Scandal
In 1994, an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.
In 2013, it was reported that traces of horse DNA was found in beef products across the UK.
Fox
Guitar Hero
The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.
But in a 2002 "The Simpsons" episode, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.
Fox
Farmville
The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.
In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.
Fox
Old Beatles Letters
In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don’t care if it takes me another 20 years. I’m going to answer every one of them."
Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney 50 years later.
Fox
Smart Watches
Sorry Apple, but "The Simpsons" had smart watches first.
In a 1995 episode in which the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.
The first smartwatch wasn't created until 2013.
Fox
Disney Owns Fox
Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s film and TV assets.
Fox
U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling
In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home an Olympic gold medal for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."
Fox
Murder Hornets and Coronavirus
In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first noticed by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.
Fox
Donald Trump Presidency
In an episode from 2000 titled "Bart to the Future" that flashes forward to the future, Lisa becomes "the first straight female" president and takes over after Donald Trump, who ruined the economy.
Fox
Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip
In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. Fans noticed it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent escape attempt to Cancun.
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From Donald Trump’s presidency to Disney buying Fox to the spread of ”murder hornets“
"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to U.S. beating Sweden for an Olympic gold medal in curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedy series got it right.
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