Disney CEO Bob Iger called the company’s 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox “ahead of its time” given the multiples that rivals are willing to fork out for Warner Bros. Discovery.
“If anything, the battle for control of Warner Bros. Discovery should emphasize to investors … the value of our assets, especially our IP brands and franchises,” he said on a conference call after quarterly earnings.
Disney inked its deal with Fox in 2017 and closed it in 2019 for over $70 billion, overcoming a competing hostile offer from Comcast for the Fox business that had forced the Mouse to raised its bid. The transaction saddled Disney with significant debt and has been controversial on Wall Street for that reason. But on a call with analysts this morning after quarterly earnings, Iger said it turns out that “Fox was extremely well priced considering what is being offered for WBD assets.”
The chief executive for a little while longer was responding to a question on the call how drama around WBD has shaped his thinking about Disney’s current situation in terms of monetizing intellectual property. Iger’s successor could be unveiled as early as this this week.
The WBD board has accepted an offer from Netflix to acquire Warner Bros.’ studio and streaming assets in a transaction worth about $83 billion. David Ellison’s Paramount is trying hard to unravel that agreement and launched a hostile tender offer for all of Paramount, including its linear television assets, for $108 billion. Both deals are all cash. Warner has rebuffed Paramount a half dozen times and has formally recommended its shareholders approve the Netflix deal. which envisions a separate transaction to spin off global linear television into a standalone public company.
WBD will hold a special shareholders meeting sometime in April for shareholders consider the Netflix deal and is advising holders to vote in favor. Paramount is urging them not to, insisting that its offer is economically superior and has a better change of regulatory approval. WBD has said it disagrees.
A heated proxy battle is unfolding as Par said it plans to put up a slate of directors for election at WBD’s annual meeting.
