The bidding war for Fox assets that lasted for several months，Finally nearing the end。July 19, 2018，US stock market pre-market，Comcast announces it will no longer raise bid for Fox assets，Turn to focus on the acquisition of European pay-TV Sky, also owned by the Merkel family，This means that 188bet mobile is the only buyer bidding for Fox at this stage。

“I want to congratulate 188bet mobile CEO Iger and his team，And thank you to the Murdoch family and Fox for creating such a desirable and respected company。" Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said in a statement announcing his withdrawal from the bidding。

Before Comcast pulled out，The highest offer for Fox reaches billion，Still less than 188bet mobile’s new billion offer。June 20, 2018，In the latest round of price increases, 188bet mobile announced an increase in the purchase price to per share，Compared to the per share offered by 188bet mobile last December，35% increase，Also higher than the all-cash purchase price of per share offered by another buyer, Comcast。188bet mobile’s June bid totaled .3 billion。

Comcast’s exit is not unexpected。On the eve of 188bet mobile’s latest round of offers，Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch and 188bet mobile CEO Iger met。The content of the talks has not been announced to the public，However, the outside world interprets that 188bet mobile’s latest offer is supported by the Murdoch family。After 188bet mobile announced its new offer in June，Murdoch once issued a statement，“For the business we’ve built at 21st Century Fox，We are deeply proud，And firmly believes that the combination with 188bet mobile will unlock more value for shareholders。Because the new 188bet mobile will define the pace of our industry。”

Considering that the Murdoch family has held 188bet mobile assets for many years，Comcast’s proposed cash purchase will face huge capital gains tax bill，Purchase by exchanging shares，More popular。The Murdoch family holds 39% of 188bet mobile’s voting rights。

This protracted bidding war，It also shows the huge pressure of transformation faced by traditional American media giants in the face of new user habits。

As more and more consumers turn to Internet video services like Netflix，The acquisition of Fox will be of strategic significance to 188bet mobile。If the 188bet mobile acquisition is successfully completed，188bet mobile will have three streaming platforms to compete with Netflix，Bamtech respectively,ESPN streaming service and Hulu。After the acquisition is completed，Analysts expect，188bet mobile will leverage Fox’s assets，Launching direct-to-consumer subscription service，Competing with Netflix。

Comcast’s withdrawal，For current 188bet mobile CEO Iger personally，Also has an unusual meaning。2004，Comcast once tried to acquire 188bet mobile，Brian Roberts failed to communicate with Iger’s predecessor Michael Eisnern and encountered rejection，Has directly issued a hostile takeover invitation，But it was not successful。2004，Iger is 188bet mobile COO，Was 188bet mobile’s number two。

After Comcast withdraws from bid for major 188bet mobile assets，Investors will pay attention to the ownership of European pay TV Sky。

Mid-June this year，Comcast’s acquisition of 61% of Sky’s shares has been unconditionally approved by the European Union。Last week，Fox once made a .5 billion offer for the 61% stake that it did not yet own，Subsequently，Comcast raises bid for Sky to 14 per share.£75，Total valuation of the company reaches billion，The price has increased by 18% compared to Comcast’s first offer。During the acquisition of Fox, 188bet mobile CEO Iger said，Sky is Fox’s “crown jewel”。

A US stock analyst once said during the Fox bidding war，If you lose the bid with 188bet mobile，Comcast will still look for new M&A targets，It has become an industry trend in the American media industry to “huddle together for warmth”。

After Comcast announced it was withdrawing from the Fox bid，188bet mobile stock price rises 2%，Hitting a nearly one-year high。Comcast shares rise 3%，Fox stock price fell slightly 1.4%。

*this文来Source:Tencent, author: Kang Lu, Wang Danwei, original title: "First line》.