Disney-Fox deal will give companies more incentive to merge: Fmr. Verizon CEO
Former Verizon (NYSE:VZ) Wireless CEO Denny Strigl said the potential approval of mega-deals between AT&T (NYSE:T) and Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) as well as the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) and 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA) will give other media companies a greater incentive to merge.
"Everybody needs scale," Strigl told FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo on Friday during an interview on "Mornings with Maria.”. "And certainly what this will create is more mergers, more acquisitions. I think we'll see more companies coming together."
While it remains unclear whether the proposed $85 billion deal between AT&T and Time Warner will go through -- the Department of Justice sued to block the merger, alleging that it violated antitrust laws -- Strigl is confident the DOJ will give its stamp of approval to the media giants, and to Fox and Disney. 21st Century Fox is the parent company of FOX Business.
As far the next steps for other media companies, Strigl expects to see Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and NBCUniversal make moves, pointing out how Verizon should also consolidate.
"Verizon has made some moves [to consolidate]. I think they need to make more moves. My guess is they know they need to make more moves," Strigl added.