Comcast drops bid for 21st Century Fox to focus on takeover of Sky

US cable giant locked in takeover battle with Rupert Murdoch for control of UK satellite TV broadcaster

Comcast, which owns a host of businesses including the NBC network and Universal Film Studios, entered bidding war with Rupert Murdoch last week by tabling a new £26bn offer for Sky (Bloomberg News)

US cable giant Comcast has said it does not plan to make a rival bid for Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox assets, but will instead focus on its offer for Sky.

The latest twist in a long-running takeover battle means Disney can now go ahead with its own $71bn (£55bn) bid for Fox’s entertainment assets.

Comcast, which owns a host of businesses including the NBC network and Universal Studios, entered a bidding war with Rupert Murdoch last week by tabling a new £26bn offer for Sky.

That came days after Fox and Sky announced they had reached their own agreement on the terms of a £14-per-share offer, valuing Sky at £24.5bn.

Fox owns a 39 per cent stake in Sky, with the Murdoch family intent on capturing the broadcaster outright. Culture secretary Matt Hancock said in May that he would only allow the deal if Sky News was sold off to ensure adequate media plurality.

At the same time, Mr Hancock cleared Comcast’s rival bid for the 61 per cent of Sky that the Murdoch family does not own.

Brian Roberts, chairman and chief executive of Comcast, said on Thursday: “I’d like to congratulate Bob Iger and the team at Disney and commend the Murdoch family and Fox for creating such a desirable and respected company.”

Disney plans to launch its own entertainment streaming platform later this year featuring films from its vast catalogue, including the Marvel franchise and Pixar’s suite of films.

A tie-up with Fox would bulk up that offering with the X-Men films, as well as popular TV shows, such as The Simpsons and Modern Family.

If the deal were to go ahead, the combined movie studios would account for 45 per cent of worldwide box office revenue, according to analysts at BTIG.