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Comcast ends bidding war with Disney for Fox, will focus on Sky

Fox has already agreed to Disney's $71.3 billion offer for its entertainment assets.

Marrian Zhou Staff Reporter
Marrian Zhou is a Beijing-born Californian living in New York City. She joined CNET as a staff reporter upon graduation from Columbia Journalism School. When Marrian is not reporting, she is probably binge watching, playing saxophone or eating hot pot.
Marrian Zhou
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Comcast is dropping out of a bidding war for 21st Century Fox.

Comcast

It looks like Disney will get the X-Men, while Comcast shifts its focus to the UK.

Comcast on Thursday confirmed it'll no longer pursue 21st Century Fox, focusing instead on its bid for UK broadcaster .

"I'd like to congratulate Bob Iger and the team at Disney and commend the Murdoch family and Fox for creating such a desirable and respected company," Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO at Comcast, said in a press release.

Fox agreed to Disney's $71.3 billion offer in June, topping Comcast's bid of $65 billion in all cash. Home to popular franchises like X-Men, Deadpool , The Simpsons and more, Fox's entertainment assets could benefit Disney significantly.

There were rumors last week that Comcast might walk away from the cash competition with Disney and focus on Sky instead, which Fox also made a bid for. Comcast raised its bid on Sky to $34 billion a week ago.

Comcast didn't have further comment beyond the release, but said that it's the high bidder and has posted its offer document.

Sky didn't comment.