Comcast and Disney have been locked in a fierce bidding war lately, with both corporate giants attempting to purchase 21st Century Fox.
If a deal were to go through, the purchaser would acquire Fox's entertainment networks, but not their news or business networks. Disney was the first to pursue Fox with a $52.4 billion, all-stock offer.
Comcast was quick to get in on the action, though. In May, the company announced that they were in the "advanced stages" of preparing an offer to top Disney's Fox bid. Comcast's offer was all-cash and would have been "at least as favorable" to Fox's shareholders as Disney's offer at around $60 billion.
Unfortunately for Comcast, Disney may have just won the battle. As reported by Ars Technica, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has approved Disney's Fox purchase, on the condition that Disney sells off Fox's regional sports networks. The DOJ hopes this will prevent Disney from becoming an entertainment monopoly.
This purchase approval certainly throws a wrench into Comcast's plans, but the writing was on the wall. The DOJ was much less likely to approve a Comcast-Fox merger, which the latter was well aware of. This led to a certain degree of reluctance when Comcast made their official offer.
To be clear, the deal isn't set in stone yet. It's possible that Disney or Fox's shareholder could reject the deal, potentially paving the way for Comcast to send Fox another, more enticing offer.