Comcast Makes Bid For 21st Century Fox In Big Hollywood Power Play

NPR | By Avie Schneider

Published June 13, 2018 at 4:43 PM EDT

Comcast made a $65 billion offer for much of the Hollywood holdings of 21st Century Fox. The bid tops the $52.4 billion offer made by Disney last year.

Updated at 5:02 p.m. ET

The power plays for Hollywood's biggest studios are coming fast and furious.

Comcast on Wednesday made a $65 billion offer for some of the biggest Hollywood holdings of 21st Century Fox, the global television and entertainment conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch and his family. The deal would not include Fox News.

The bid by Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal, tops the $52.4 billion offer made by Disney for 21st Century Fox in December. And it comes just a day after a federal judge approved AT&T's $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner.

Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts cited the AT&T/Time Warner court decision in his offer letter to 21st Century Fox Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch and his sons, co-Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch and CEO James Murdoch.

"In light of yesterday's decision in the AT&T/Time Warner case, the limited time prior to your shareholders' meeting, and our strong continued interest, we are pleased to present a new, all-cash proposal that fully addresses the Board's stated concerns with our prior proposal," Roberts wrote.

The Fox stable includes The Simpsons and the X-Men movie franchise. Time Warner owns CNN, HBO, Warner Bros. Entertainment and cable channels including TNT, TBS and the Cartoon Network.