Mickey Mouse is ready to make an offer, and it’s a big one. A really big one.
Disney has made a bid of $71.3 billion in cash and stock for 21st Century Fox. According to the New York Times, this is six billion higher than Comcast’s offer of $65 billion. So far, Fox has approved of the bid.
As The Verge reports, a planned vote for July 10 is now on hold. The shareholders must choose whether or not to go with Disney’s offer.
The purchase of Fox will make for an even bigger film universe. The X-Men, Deadpool and the Fantastic Four will be able to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Other franchises Disney will acquire include Avatar, Die Hard, Planet of the Apes, Alien, and Predator.
Disney will launch its own streaming service in 2019. This will put them in competition with Netflix. In addition, Disney will also own Hulu.
However, Comcast has yet to back out of the bidding war. There is always the chance the company will make a counter-offer. According to Comicbook.com, “Wall Street analysts are expecting Comcast to make a follow-up bid.”
No doubt this will be interesting.