Disney Re-Thinking Fox Family deal

[lrodk]

It seems that in light of recent economic events and circumstances surrounding the 9/11 terrorist attack, Disney is re-considering their deal to purchase the Fox Family channel. No official word as to whether or not they're considering pulling out, but they are definitely keeping all options open at this point in time, including possibly negotiating a lower price for the acquisition. Here's a link to the article:

http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/011017/n17324852_1.html

[MickeyMoose15]

i NEVER THOUGHT dISNEY WOULD GO FOR fox fAMILY IN THE FIRST PLACE! wONDER WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO DO NOW?

[YoHo]

Well, I think that's good news.

[Another Voice]

The rumor around town is that Disney is not backing out of the deal, but trying to renegotiate the terms. The Fox position is that they have a signed contract and have refused to alter the terms. Disney may try to sue in court, claiming that “a state of war “ materially alters the value of Fox Family, but that will be very difficult to prove.

Disney is also faced with another troubling situation. The cash it had borrowed to finance the deal has been spent on the Bass Brothers, other stock buybacks, and immediate expenses over the last month. Since then, the price of Disney’s stock has fallen tremendously and the Company’s credit rating has been lowered. This will make raise the money again much more expensive then it was the first time around.

It’s also rumored that Disney may be forced into paying many millions of dollars to get Pat Robinson’s ‘The 700 Club’ show off the Fox Family network. Comments made Roberston and Jerry Falwell the day after the first attacks have made the show an immense liability to Disney and to its advertisers. The agreement with Fox requires that the show be carried after the sale, meaning that Disney is legally required to both carry the show and pay Pat Robertson for it. A separate deal (involving a large payment to Robertson) is the only way out of that clause.