Deals and IPOs

Analyst: Disney's higher offer for Fox's assets is the start of an 'unbelievable bidding war' with Comcast

Key Points
  • Walt Disney's new offer for the Fox assets being put up for sale is the start of a bidding war with Comcast, one analyst tells CNBC.
  • Disney chief Bob Iger "is not walking away," says Porter Bibb, managing partner at Mediatech Capital Partners.
Robert Iger, chairman and chief executive officer of Walt Disney Co. and Brian Roberts, Comcast chairman and CEO.
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Walt Disney's sweetened offer for the Twenty-First Century Fox assets is the start of "an unbelievable bidding war" with Comcast, one analyst told CNBC on Wednesday.

Fox shares were 6 percent higher Wednesday after Disney raised its bid for Fox's movie and television properties to $71.3 billion in cash and stock, topping Comcast's all-cash offer of $65 billion.

"This is just the beginning of what's going to be an unbelievable bidding war," said Porter Bibb, managing partner at Mediatech Capital Partners.

Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman at Fox, and Disney chief Bob Iger met Tuesday night before this new bid was submitted, sources told CNBC's David Faber.

"Iger is not walking away," Bibb told "Squawk Box." "He has every intention of taking over the Fox entertainment assets because it fits his strategy of going over-the-top and leaving legacy media behind and going all in on streaming."

The OTT model of delivering content directly to consumers over the internet has contributed to so-called cord-cutting, the trend of some television viewers bolting the traditional cable and satellite TV services.

Disney plans to launch next year a Disney-branded OTT streaming video service, which is seen by analysts as a would-be competitor to Netflix.

Larry Haverty, managing director at LJH Investment Advisors, told CNBC on Wednesday he expects more salvos over the Fox assets but predicted Disney would come out on top.

"Disney has to be the favorite in the horse race," said Haverty, adding Disney has the right "tools" to win a bidding war.

— Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.