Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) said on Monday it had abandoned its bid for most of the assets of Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOXA) leaving Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) as the sole suitor in pursuit of the $40-billion-plus deal.
Sources told the media last week that Disney was in the lead to acquire the assets, which include Fox's FX and National Geographic cable channels, its movie studio, the Star network in India and stake in European pay-TV provider Sky.
The Murdoch family, which controls Fox, prefers a deal with Disney because it would rather be paid in Disney stock than Comcast stock, and expects a potential deal with Disney to be cleared by U.S. antitrust regulators more easily.
Comcast, the biggest cable provider in the United States, said in a statement on Monday that its discussions with Fox had ended.
The assets in question would have expanded Comcast's international footprint through ownership of Sky and Star. A source told Reuters in mid-November that Comcast had approached Fox about its interest, and talks were in early stages.
Disney's negotiations with Fox are continuing, and a deal could be reached as early as this month, sources close to the situation said on Monday. The persons asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential.
Any potential deal will follow the U.S. Department of Justice's decision last month to sue to block AT&T's (NYSE: T) $85.4-billion deal to buy Time Warner.
Comcast opened Tuesday at $38.44 – where it had closed Monday, while shares in Fox were static at $33.66.
