Disney's Iger expects higher Comcast bid

Walt Disney Co. President and Chief Operating Officer Bob Iger said Tuesday that he sensed the "inevitability" of a new and higher bid from Comcast Corp. to take over the entertainment conglomerate.

Disney's board on Feb. 16 rejected the original $47.7 billion all-stock offer from the nation's largest cable operator, but Comcast has indicated it still wants a deal — at the right price — and said so in a presentation Monday.

"I think Comcast comes back. I was not at the session yesterday, but I sensed that there is an inevitability to another offer being made, that is in all likelihood higher than the offer that was made. It's just my opinion," Iger said at a conference hosted by Bear Stearns.

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"I don't know how or when," he added, saying the Disney board would give a new bid fair consideration.

Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts Monday at the same conference outlined his case for a merger but said that he would not raise his bid and could walk away from a deal that did not make financial sense.

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Iger also told investors that Disney was doing well on its own as a content-only company while distributors such as Comcast would find owning content more imperative.

"I think that there there is a model that could work in terms of the marriage of distribution and content, but it is not a slam dunk model," said Iger.