Disney sale likely to see boss go

DISNEY boss Michael Eisner is increasingly seen as damaged goods by Wall Street, which believes he will be ousted whether or not Comcast's bid succeeds.

'Whichever way you look at it, Disney is now in play even if Comcast isn't the eventual buyer,' said one analyst.

'One of the chief reasons the company is vulnerable is Eisner. He has not managed it well in the last few years. Whoever buys it cannot honestly keep him on in anything more than a symbolic role, and probably not even that.'

Whoever wins will have to pay more for the venerable media giant than Comcast's first offer, widely regarded as too low.

The bid was eroded further by a drop in the company's share price, reducing its value from over $50bn to about $45bn.

Most observers believe Comcast will raise its offer substantially.

'There's a reasonable probability Comcast will not make it,' said Hal Vogel of Vogel Capital Management.

'Financially, they are not coming with tremendous power.' That could open the door to another bidder such as Viacom.

In Florida yesterday, Eisner hit back at his critics and refused to discuss the offer. 'We think we are running a pretty good company as it is,' he said.