The board of directors for Walt Disney rejected a takeover bid by cable television giant Comcast officials said.
The board noted that the current offer to acquire Disney by swapping shares of both companies would undervalue Disney’s holdings.
”We are committed to creating shareholder value now and in the future and will carefully consider any legitimate proposal that would accomplish that objective,” the Disney board said in a statement released on Monday.
”In any proposal by Comcast, or any other company, the board will consider and assess the value to be received in exchange for the shares of Disney, and also the appropriate premium to reflect the full value of Disney.”
Comcast made the surprise bid for Disney on Wednesday hours before the entertainment company was set to announce strong first quarter earnings.
The bid was initially valued at $54-billion, but investors jacked up the price of Disney stock beyond the Comcast offer.
Comcast also said it would assume $11,9-billion in debt from Disney, which owns the ABC television network, the ESPN cable television sports station, movie studios and theme parks.
In its statement on Monday, Disney’s board of directors said Comcast’s offer amounts to $3,60 less than market value for each share of Disney stock.
”The deficit of value in Comcast’s proposal has existed from the very first day after Comcast announced it, when the deficit was $3,24 per Disney share or a total of $6,6-billion,” the statement read.
Disney and Comcast together had $45-billion in revenues last year. If a deal had been reached to combine the companies, it would have created the world’s biggest media company, edging out Time Warner, which had $39,6-billion in revenues last year. – Sapa-AP