It isn't exactly a done deal yet, and Walt Disney Co. may yet deem Comcast's bid to buy the company insufficient, but analysts are saying Mircosoft – "the silent partner looming in the wings" – could be one of the biggest winners in the Comcast bid.
And if Comcast succeeds in buying Disney, Microsoft would end up controlling about 4 percent of what would be the world's largest media company, since it now owns 7.4 percent of Comcast, according to Reuters, giving it leverage during and after the dealmaking to move its software toward the digital entertainment surge.
But it doesn't exactly mean Microsoft itself would make a competing play to buy Disney, even though in theory it could do so. Analysts told Reuters Microsoft has pulled back from investing in content too heavily, after it launched MSNBC and Slate, the online magazine, both of which are still comparatively small operations, though high enough profiled.
"Microsoft has long sought to forge links in the telecommunications and entertainment industries in order to sell its software, leading some observers to question whether the world's largest software maker could emerge as a rival bidder for Disney," Reuters said, adding that with almost $53 billion in cash alone the Redmond, Washington software empire could "easily pay" for a large media franchise with cash or stock.
"The missing link in all of Microsoft's plans is content," Directions on Microsoft research director Rob Helm told Reuters, saying that Microsoft is counting on digital audio and video to keep personal computer sales intact since the next version of Windows isn't expected for two years at minimum.
Even holding minority ownership in a merged Comcast/Disney media giant, Reuters said, might be enough to make stronger links between Microsoft products, Comcast distribution, and Disney's entertainment assets, especially given Disney's agreeing this week to license digital media technology from Microsoft to distribute films online to prevent piracy.
