21st Century Fox is telling shareholders that Comcast’s bid for its assets holds a higher risk of being delayed or denied by antitrust regulators than the proposal by the Walt Disney Co. Fox’s board has endorsed.
In an SEC filing Tuesday, Fox said that its board discussed the conclusion of Fox management and its law firm that “a strategic transaction with Comcast continued to carry higher regulatory risk leading to the possibility of significant delay in the receipt of merger consideration as well as the risk of an inability to consummate the transactions.”
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It noted that Comcast had issues when it tried to acquire Time Warner Cable, the upcoming expiration of the consent decree it agreed to when it bought NBC Universal in 2011, the changes in net neutrality rules, the possibility of Comcast getting control of Hulu and Comcast’s ownership of regional sports networks that compete with Fox’s.
The filing said Disney's bid would have a smoother route to closing because of Disney’s mix of businesses, the progress Disney and Fox have already made towards getting its proposal regulatory approval.
