Re: Disney/Fox Deal: Mouse Outbids Commies...
Uh oh.
Fox Shareholder Sues to Stop Disney Merger
Uh oh.
Fox Shareholder Sues to Stop Disney Merger
While 21st Century Fox shareholders are poised to meet on July 27 to discuss the Walt Disney Co.‘s bid to purchase a majority of the company’s assets, not everyone under the Fox umbrella appears to be on board with the House of Mouse’s $71.3 billion acquisition.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Robert Weiss is leading other Fox shareholders in a lawsuit filed in Delaware federal court, which “alleges that a proxy statement filed on June 28 omits or misrepresents the company’s financial projections and the data underlying financial valuation analyses from Goldman Sachs and Centerview Partners.”
“In short, unless remedied, 21CF’s public stockholders will be forced to make a voting or appraisal decision on the Proposed Transaction without full disclosure of all material information concerning the Proposed Transaction being provided to them,” the complaint reads.
After a bidding war with Comcast, Disney seemed to cement it win when the company raised its offer to a whopping $71.3 billion. It’s said that the new $38-a-share price is about $10 a share higher than the original offer from Disney back in December, and it’s also $3 above Comcast’s most recent bid.
Of course, there’s still time for Comcast to make yet another counteroffer, forcing Disney to increase its bid once more. A letter sent to employees by Lachlan and James Murdoch seemed to suggest they expect the deal with Disney to close within six to 12 months following the Department of Justice’s conditional approval. It’s also thought that, despite welcoming a new counteroffer from Comcast, Rupert Murdoch is in favor of Disney over Comcast due to antitrust concerns, even after the successful AT&T and Time Warner merger.
It remains to be seen how Weiss’ lawsuit could further impact the ongoing Disney/Fox discussions, but Fox declined to comment when contacted by THR.