U.S. cable operator Comcast is reportedly "asking investment banks to increase a bridge financing facility" by as much as $60B so it can make an "all-cash offer" for the media assets that 21st Century Fox agreed to sell to Walt Disney Co. for $52B, according to Roumeliotis & Baker of REUTERS. Sources said that Comcast CEO Brian Roberts only plans to proceed with the bid "if a federal judge allows" AT&T's planned $85B acquisition of Time Warner to proceed. Disney CEO Bob Iger "clinched an all-stock deal" with Fox Exec Chair Rupert Murdoch in December to acquire Fox’s film, TV and int'l businesses, giving the world’s largest entertainment company "an arsenal of shows and movies to combat growing digital rivals" Netflix and Amazon. Comcast, owner of NBC and Universal Pictures, has also made a $30B offer to acquire the 61% stake in European pay-TV group Sky that Fox does not already own. The exact value of Comcast's new bid for the Fox assets is "not yet clear," although the $60B in new financing indicates it is "seeking significant firepower to outbid Disney" (REUTERS, 5/7).
