*By Jim Roberts*
The see-saw battle for the assets of 21st Century Fox may take another turn after Comcast said on Monday that it would make an all-cash bid for Fox’s assets if AT&T wins its legal fight to acquire Time Warner, according to a report by CNBC.
A federal judge in Washington is expected to rule Tuesday on AT&T’s $85 billion bid for Time Warner, which has been opposed by U.S. antitrust regulators. The government sought to block the acquisition, fearing that AT&T would use its control over Time Warner content to extract higher licensing payments for popular entertainment.
Those higher costs would likely be passed along to consumers.
Rupert Murdoch agreed in December to sell most of his 21st Century Fox media empire to Disney in a $52-billion all-stock deal.
In the deal, Disney [agreed to buy](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/business/media/comcast-21st-century-fox-disney.html) the 20th Century Fox studio, Hulu, the FX cable network, and stakes in two overseas television-service providers, Sky of Britain and Star of India. The deal did not include the Fox broadcast network or Fox News.
But BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield [told Cheddar exclusively](https://cheddar.com/videos/rich-greenfield-murdoch-no-longer-set-on-selling-to-disney-for-stock) that Murdoch was no longer set on selling to Disney.
Comcast, which previously made an all-stock bid for the company that Murdoch rebuffed, has suggested for some time that it would prepare an all-cash bid around $60 billion.
On Monday morning, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts told investors that the cable company was in the [“advanced stages”](https://deadline.com/2018/06/brian-roberts-comcast-advanced-stages-offer-fox-annual-shareholders-meeting-1202407754/) of preparing an offer, pending the outcome of the AT&T-Time Warner antitrust suit.
[According to CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/11/comcast-announcing-fox-bid-on-wednesday-if-att-time-warner-approved.html), Comcast executives believe their company’s bid for Fox will put pressure on Disney's shares, putting pressure on Disney to raise the value of it’s all all-stock offer.
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
