It is likely to be the biggest takeover in the entertainment business in this century, and it might be completed within the next few days. The latest report suggests that the deal between the Mouse House and 21st Century Fox is likely to be announced during this week.
As reported by Bloomberg, at present, the other major brand in discussion with Fox, Comcast Corp has bowed out of the competition. Thus, there is almost nothing stopping Disney and Fox deal now. As reported by us earlier, the rumors about the deal initially surfaced last month and then the talks were stalled, only to regain momentum later. Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, is likely to stay on at Disney even after his current contract expires if the deal goes through.
As a part of the deal, 21st Century Fox would retain Fox News, the Fox broadcast network and Fox Sports 1, whereas, Disney would get Fox’s film and TV studio including their networks such as FX, National Geographic and Fox’s share in the streaming platform Hulu. As per Bernstein Research analyst Todd Juenger, the Disney/Fox deal will be worth around $74 billion.
Disney’s eagerness to buy Fox’s film and TV properties is primarily due to the Marvel properties owned by Fox. The company has the rights to X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool. Marvel had initially sold those characters and various other major properties when it was staring at bankruptcy during the 1990s. Another rival, Sony has Spider-Man rights, and Disney has recently worked out a deal with them that facilitated Spider-Man to be a part of Captain America: Civil War.Â
The prospects of Disney/Fox merger is fascinating for Marvel fans who are keen to see characters such as the X-Men become a part of the MCU or a good new Fantastic Four film. It turns out that not just the Marvel fans, but Marvel Studios president, Kevin Feige is also waiting to get control of the mutants X-Men.
Bloomberg has pointed out that although the deal is likely to be announced this week, it doesn’t imply that the deal is completed. Disney/Fox merger will undergo regulatory review in Washington, and the Justice Department has earlier blocked other mega-mergers between media houses such as the deal between AT&T and Time Warner.
We will update you further as soon as new details come up about the Disney/Fox acquisition.
