Walt Disney rejected the Comcast takeover offer almost as soon as it was made. Instead it vowed to stand by its embattled chief executive and chairman Michael Eisner.
Yesterday, the Disney board again reiterated support for Eisner, who has faced sharp criticism from shareholders. Eisner lost his chairman title after the company's AGM last month.
The decision to pull out was announced by Brian L Roberts, president and chief executive officer of Comcast, as the cable firm reported its first-quarter results today.
According to Roberts: "We have always been disciplined in our approach to acquisitions. Being disciplined means knowing when it is time to walk away. That time is now."
He added: "It has become clear that there is no interest on the part of Disney's management and board in putting Comcast and Disney together. As a result, we have withdrawn our offer."
As it announced it was no longer pursuing Disney, Comcast revived a $1bn (£560m) share-buyback plan.
Its first-quarter results saw the Philadelphia-based company report net income of $65m compared with a loss last time of $355m, as revenue rose to $4.91bn from $4.47bn.
"Comcast is in the best shape in its history," Roberts said. "As emphasised by our first-quarter numbers just released today, we are off to a great start this year and are uniquely positioned to deliver superior growth and value to our shareholders in 2004 and beyond.
"With over 21% cash-flow growth this quarter, we are the fastest-growing media and telecommunications company in the nation. In addition, now that we have withdrawn the Disney proposal, we are once again in a position to move forward with our previously announced $1bn stock repurchase programme."
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