Disney Just One-Upped Comcast in the Battle for Fox

In a bid to edge out Comcast, Disney is now offering $71.3 billion, or $38 per share, for 21st Century Fox. The offer arrives shortly after Comcast entered the merger arena, offering $65 billion for Foxs goods—and topping the $52.4 billion that Disney offered last year. In response, Disney has not only countered with a bigger offer but has also upgraded the offers terms; the revised deal now offers Fox shareholders the option of getting cash or stock.

Disney chief Bob Iger didnt mince words about the potential deal on Wednesday morning, talking up the buying power that Disney has over Comcast.

“We have a much better opportunity in terms of approval and the timing of that approval than Comcast does in this case,” Iger said, according to Variety. “We are confident that we have a clear and timely path to approval.”

He added that his company is already six months into the regulatory review process, which means its more prepared for any issues the Justice Department may raise about the proposed merger in the coming months. Disneys also spent the last six months strengthening its expertise of Foxs assets, according to Iger. “We have a much greater appreciation for the potential that these assets represent to us, to our strategy today and to the strategy we intend to deploy long-term. Weve been extremely impressed with the talent weve been engaging with at Fox.”

Disney doesnt quite have this deal in the bag yet, however. As Varietys latest cover story points out, Comcast head Brian Roberts is one of Igers most bitter rivals, and, prior to making his $65 billion cash offer, was angling for other ways to scoop valuable Fox assets out from under Disney. Though it remains to be seen whether Comcast will rival Disneys $71.3 billion offer, it wouldnt be surprising if the company remained in the fight anyway, brainstorming a way to raise the stakes further.

The ever-spiraling Fox mega-deal arrives at a heady time for the entertainment industry. Elsewhere in the business world, AT&T just purchased Time Warner. In addition, Fox is currently facing heat from its in-house Hollywood powerhouses, like Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane and Modern Family creator Steve Levitan, who have slammed their parent company over Fox Newss coverage of President Trumps inhumane policy of separating immigrant children from their parents.

“I look forward to seeing #ModernFamily through to the end and then, sale or no sale, setting up shop elsewhere,” Levitan wrote.

Directors like Paul Feig and Judd Apatow, who have made films with 20th Century Fox, have also tweeted their disgust with Fox News. “I too cannot condone the support their news division promotes toward the immoral and abusive policies and actions taken by this current administration toward immigrant children,” Feig wrote.

Fox News, however, is not one of the assets Disney and Comcast are currently squabbling over. The news entity, along with the Fox Business Network, Fox Sports 1 and 2, and the Fox broadcast network, will instead become part of a new company when 21st Century Fox gets sold, which is to be called “New Fox.”

Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Full ScreenPhotos:The Must-See Looks From the MTV Movie and TV AwardsYohana DestaYohana Desta is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.