Disney/FOX Acquisition Thread

[Paulio]

1. Because Fox won't give it to them unless they buy the entire suite of businesses.
2. If you go back to the deal, Universal was willing to give up everything but the international assets including majority control of Hulu.
3. WSJ put out Comcast statement that they were willing to split with Disney and let them have everything but international.
4. The fact they gettting more partners to specifically split assets with them getting international says it really isn't about the domestic assets.

Fox is a company where they make most of the money overseas not in the US. That's why Comcast wants them.

Well, isn't that just amazing because that still doesn't answer my question! Why bother then? Comcast would not bid for Fox in the first place and only just compete with Fox and Disney for the foreign assets, let alone the entire drama back all the way at the beginning of the bid in November 2017. Also, all WSJ did is put out an analysis opinion, not a fact. We really don't know at this point, even though it's already the beginning of July, So I'm not going to jump to conclusions at this point until we get the actual confirmation of whether Comcast still bids for Fox's entire assets or drops out.

 

[jrn14]

Simpsons part of Fox. Simpsons theme park contract with Universal is up in X number of years.

but at this time all we can do is theorize... we have no idea what could happen?

 

[Mad Dog]

but at this time all we can do is theorize... we have no idea what could happen?

yep, it's just a lot of guessing, and really way too far in the future to be able to determine anything at all.

 

[DK745]

Simpsons part of Fox. Simpsons theme park contract with Universal is up in X number of years.

By the time the deal is up they might want to move on to something new anyway. The ride is already 10 years old, the land 5 years old.

 

[Teebin]

So X is an unknown... could be 10, 20 or even an infinite number of years depending on the contract. I doubt is is a major concern for Universal or Comcast.

 

[Paulio]

By the time the deal is up they might want to move on to something new anyway. The ride is already 10 years old, the land 5 years old.

Well, the Springfield area just recently opened in both Orlando and Hollywood so it makes no sense Universal should get rid of them after spending millions of dollars building the area. To my understanding, Universal holds the worldwide theme park rights to the Simpsons for a while so it's already off the tables for Disney (and it's not suitable for the theme park anyways so it's moot).

 

[zg44]

Just based on the Harry Potter contract and the fact that the Simpsons contract was created and signed at around the same time; I'd guess that the Simpsons contract probably expires around 2027-2030.

So this isn't really that big of a deal; who knows what new IPs will be available in 10 years.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

The Simpsons is going in ten years no matter who gets Fox IMO

 

[jrn14]

Like Barney and Fievel and Woodrow Woodpecker?

 

[Viator]

Like Barney and Fievel and Woodrow Woodpecker?

I am going to Photoshop that.

 

[Paulio]

When do you really think Comcast is gonna make a next huge bid? This week or the next?

 

[Nick]

So X is an unknown... could be 10, 20 or even an infinite number of years depending on the contract. I doubt is is a major concern for Universal or Comcast.

I believe it's 2028.

 

[Orlandofan12]

When do you really think Comcast is gonna make a next huge bid? This week or the next?

At this point the question isn't when, the question is if.

 

[Viator]

I am going to Photoshop that.

The deed has been done.

 

[Paulio]

At this point the question isn't when, the question is if.

Well if Fox is deadset against Comcast entirely, it wouldn't have delayed the vote to July 27, instead of July 10th which is next week. By that point, Comcast should have announced a larger bid sooner or later since their bid was overrun by Disney's larger one a couple of weeks ago. Getting Sky, which is a foreign asset and most people especially in America either don't care or not aware of, means absolutely nothing to American consumers and has no impact on Hollywood at all. The vast majority of people care about the Fox movie/TV studios, Hulu, National Geographics, and FX Networks, which are the centers of attention and headlines in the past couple of months. Whether Comcast is so serious about getting these assets or not sooner or later is another question, as we're already a few days into July of this year, and we haven't heard anything from the telecom company's response to Disney's bid and DOJ approval yet.

 

[Mad Dog]

The Fox Board also extended the date to appease some of the large investment firms that hold significant percentages of their stock. Those firms have indicated they want the best return possible, not just a favored buyer play. So there are significant internal Fox politics in play on this too. The Murdochs like the Disney mostly stock swap purchase since that works better for their family in relation to taxes. The Investment firms look at it differently.

 

[Orlandofan12]

Well if Fox is deadset against Comcast entirely, it wouldn't have delayed the vote to July 27, instead of July 10th which is next week. By that point, Comcast should have announced a larger bid sooner or later since their bid was overrun by Disney's larger one a couple of weeks ago. Getting Sky, which is a foreign asset and most people especially in America either don't care or not aware of, means absolutely nothing to American consumers and has no impact on Hollywood at all. The vast majority of people care about the Fox movie/TV studios, Hulu, National Geographics, and FX Networks, which are the centers of attention and headlines in the past couple of months. Whether Comcast is so serious about getting these assets or not sooner or later is another question, as we're already a few days into July of this year, and we haven't heard anything from the telecom company's response to Disney's bid and DOJ approval yet.

The Fox Board also extended the date to appease some of the large investment firms that hold significant percentages of their stock. Those firms have indicated they want the best return possible, not just a favored buyer play. So there are significant internal Fox politics in play on this too. The Murdochs like the Disney mostly stock swap purchase since that works better for their family in relation to taxes. The Investment firms look at it differently.

Disney and Fox had to delay the vote so shareholders would be given adequate time to review the updated proposal. Shareholders are just now receiving the new material. Quite frankly, setting the date for July 27, a day before the record date deadline is kinda a slap in the face to Comcast.

We'll know soon enough. If Comcast really want to engage in a proxy fight, they need to make their bid ASAP. I personally would not recommend Comcast making another bid. They were already stretching the limits of their debt capacity with their initial bid, and it has become clear that Disney has a very high price ceiling for these assets. Raising the bar again for the Fox assets also raises the cost of Sky under the UK takeover laws. From Comcast's perspective the logic plays out like this: Does Comcast feel they still have a good chance of getting these assets? If yes, then they'll likely raise their bid after weighing the risks. If not, they'll bow out and go after Sky instead.

 

[darkshadow237]

Well, the Springfield area just recently opened in both Orlando and Hollywood so it makes no sense Universal should get rid of them after spending millions of dollars building the area. To my understanding, Universal holds the worldwide theme park rights to the Simpsons for a while so it's already off the tables for Disney (and it's not suitable for the theme park anyways so it's moot).

I think Universal has the U.S. rights to The Simpsons. Disney would most likely put The Simpsons in there parks outside the U.S.

 

[Paulio]

Disney and Fox had to delay the vote so shareholders would be given adequate time to review the updated proposal. Shareholders are just now receiving the new material. Quite frankly, setting the date for July 27, a day before the record date deadline is kinda a slap in the face to Comcast.

We'll know soon enough. If Comcast really want to engage in a proxy fight, they need to make their bid ASAP. I personally would not recommend Comcast making another bid. They were already stretching the limits of their debt capacity with their initial bid, and it has become clear that Disney has a very high price ceiling for these assets. Raising the bar again for the Fox assets also raises the cost of Sky under the UK takeover laws. From Comcast's perspective the logic plays out like this: Does Comcast feel they still have a good chance of getting these assets? If yes, then they'll likely raise their bid after weighing the risks. If not, they'll bow out and go after Sky instead.

I concur with you. Whether Comcast successfully gets Sky or not, that's none of our concern and the telecom company will lose bigtime in the entertainment industry. The largest ISP and media conglomerate company in this country losing the bid to a sole biggest, entertainment company? This will be very embarrassing to the legacy of Comcast and NBCUniversal too, which house the Simpsons area at their parks in Hollywood and Orlando. At the moment, we thought Comcast might gain the upper hand since the AT&T-TW merger approval, but it seems like they were too overconfident of believing they could beat Disney in all levels, when Disney seems to gain the advantage here. Either Comcast just gives up on the domestic assets or they just secretly throw in the towel and focus on the international assets instead.

I think Universal has the U.S. rights to The Simpsons. Disney would most likely put The Simpsons in there parks outside the U.S.

The Simpsons isn't really suitable for a Disney park anywhere in the world, due to its adult-animated like content and toilet humor in the series. Not a way you would really want to promote it to a kid who loves Disney so much and the series doesn't fit into the Disney theme anyways.

 

[darkshadow237]

Neither was Avatar, and it got a land in a Disney park.