[lawwin]

Hey, Guys! Just announced! Check this out!

Reuters
Comcast Withdraws Its Bid for Disney
Wednesday April 28, 8:37 am ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Comcast Corp. (NasdaqNM:CMCSA - News), the largest U.S. cable company, on Wednesday withdrew its unsolicited $48.4 billion bid to buy Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS - News) after the entertainment conglomerate steadfastly refused to open negotiations.

"It has become clear that there is no interest on the part of Disney's management and board in putting Comcast and Disney together," Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts said in a statement.

The withdrawal came less than three months after Comcast launched its surprise bid and drove Comcast shares higher in premarket trade. Disney shares dipped.

"We have always been disciplined in our approach to acquisitions," Roberts said. "Being disciplined means knowing when it is time to walk away. That time is now."

Comcast announced the withdrawal of the bid shortly after reporting a first-quarter profit. Comcast executives were likely to have faced numerous questions about the takeover proposal on a scheduled conference call with investors following the earnings.

The bid had led some analysts and investors to question whether Comcast believed it could sustain a cable-only strategy going forward.

Comcast insisted it the withdrawal was not because it had made a strategic miscalculation, but because it was unwilling to waste more time on an unwilling target or raise its bid.

Shares of Comcast, which had fallen nearly 12 percent since it announced its bid in February, rose as much as 6 percent in pre-market trade.

The withdrawal of the bid comes a day after Disney's board reiterated support for embattled CEO Michael Eisner, who has faced sharp criticism from high profile shareholders. Eisner lost his chairman title after a contentious annual meeting last month.

The withdrawal frees Comcast, based in Philadelphia, to return to the acquisition trail. The company is expected to take a serious look at Adelphia Communications Corp. (Other OTC:ADELQ.PK - News), the bankrupt cable TV operator which put itself up for sale earlier this month, according to several sources close to the company.

A Disney spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. The entertainment and media conglomerate has continually said it would not discuss the merger offer with Comcast, which it said severely undervalued the company.

Shares of Comcast rose to $31.75 in premarket trade on the INET electronic brokerage system, up from a close of $29.97 on Nasdaq on Tuesday. Disney shares dipped to $23.75 on INET, down from their close at $24.18 on the New York Stock Exchange (News - Websites) .



This is good news for Disney, but they better step up to the plate and make the most of it and take it for what it is worth. Just because Comcast isn't interested anymore does not mean that there is not a lot of improvement to be made or they may be in for a bigger and more costly battle with someone who may be a lot more serious than Comcast and ready for the fight. They need to fix their internal problems and get things going on the right track again.

[mickaholic4077]

I just saw this on Cnn.com. I'm glad that Disney will remain Disney.

[coasterman2002]

This is great news for all us Disney lovers.

[lopo]

What a relief! It is to me anyway. Comcast seems to be growing into what AT&T was years ago before the courts stepped in and broke up the empire (not that I necessarily think that was a good thing, especially since it seems that another company is just stepping up to the plate!)

Bottom line for me is I think that Disney has a better chance of continuing to be a magical thing if it remains responsible only to Disney shareholders. There's even a good chance that some of the magic that's been missing could come back (Positive thinking!) However, I truly believe if a mega-company (such as Comcast) steps in, it will be just another "thing"/place.

[dznygrl]

YESSSSSS!!!!!

[downsouthtigger]

Aww well that sux, does this mean we wont see the new disney/comcast logo??? *courtesy of savedisney.com*

[dznygrl]

LOL Fred, that's funny!

[Amethyst]

Thank goodness!! There for a while, I was worrying this may be the last trip I make. I don't think I would ever go back if Disney lost its independence. No other company out there provides service the way Disney does. No other company knows how to. The parks would have turned into yet another Six Flags. **putting on banker's cap** If I had the capital, I'd make a hostile bid for Comcast, succeed, and give Comcast's current CEO a promotion to Janitor.

[lawwin]

Be realistic. There is not another company that could effectively run Disney because they are not as diversified as Disney. Disney has amusementparks, hotels, merchandise, TV networks, radio networks (that means a foreign company cannot own them - FCC rules forbid it), Movie studios, sports teams, and that is just a start. There is no ther company that I can really think of that is really that diversified and capable of managing that many businesses. Can you think of one?

I just think that Disney needs to manage it's own business and make itself stronger and less appealing to those who may think that they may be able to run the company better than those who are currently in power. I think Disney needs to sell of those parts which are a drain on its assets, and concentrate on what it knows, how to make families and children happy. Then the stockholders and Walt's family would be happy as well and all this other mess would go away. Just stick with what you know and the rest will follow.

[Amethyst]

Lawwin, I agree with you. There is only one company that comes close to Disney's diversified business structure, but they lack the theme parks. It is American but I doubt very much the government would ever allow such a sale to go through. I think the scaling back of the Disney Stores are a great idea. But, before they sell off the laggards, I think they should give it one more try. Instead of trying to "keep up with the Joneses," they really need to refresh their TV shows & try to bring a new breath of fresh air to radio. It is sad when other companies begin to look at Disney and spot numerous weaknesses. My only hope is that this hostile bid was a sharp wake-up call for those in office.

[MerlinMatt]

I think Disney needs to get back to what it does best: family entertainment.

I think pro sports and television is too much of a stretch and makes it suseptible to poisoning by so-called "public demand."

Disney, over the past 10-15 years, has been unable to draw the line at where it will stop being an "empire." I don't like empires. They're rarely good and they don't have staying power, because someone is always wanting to take them down.

Honestly, my concerns about Disney's over-diversification are the principle reasons that I don't want to invest in DVC. I think there's risk in Disney that didn't exist 10 years ago.

[Phillip Chapman]

thats good

[inluvwithdisney]

Thank goodness!! Disney stays Disney!!!

[anaheimboy]

EXACTLY! Like u said inluvwithdisney... "Thank goodness!! Disney Stays Disney!!!" I would have been SOO mad if Disney let Comcast buy them out! ARRR. Now just for what Comcast tried to do they are on my most hated list!!....in ALL categories!!