Fox and Disney shareholders vote to approve $71.3 billion merger
- by Leland Aguilar
- in Entertaiment
- — Jul 28, 2018
Meeting in NY, a majority of the Disney shareholders approved the deal after only 8 minutes, with the package including Fox's 39 percent stake in the European pay TV company Sky which Comcast is still pursuing.
Since rumors of a merger between the Walt Disney Company and 21st Century Fox emerged last fall, fans have had conflicted reactions to the idea.
Now that shareholders have approved the purchase, the deal will be locked in, but not finalized.
Fox plans to spin off its news and sports channels, including its flagship Fox News channel, into a newly listed company.
Fox's entertainment assets, including The Simpsons, will soon become part of Disney.
Gerson Zweifach, general counsel of 21st Century Fox, told Fox shareholders that the merger is expected to be completed in the first half of 2019, Variety reports.
The two companies continue to vie for satellite broadcaster Sky. As a result, current 21st Century Fox stockholders will own a 17-20% stake in New Disney on a pro forma basis. But Disney agreed to sell those separately to help ensure regulatory approval for the merger. During a brief question and answer period, one said Disney overpaid by as much as US$10 billion. Disney responded with a counter of $71.3 billion, a mix of cash and stock, dealing what ended up being the finishing blow to Comcast. We remain grateful to Rupert Murdoch and to the rest of the 21st Century Fox board for entrusting us with the future of these extraordinary businesses, and look forward to welcoming 21st Century Fox's stellar talent to Disney and ultimately integrating our businesses to provide consumers around the world with more appealing content and entertainment options.
Disney now own Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm and Fox, pending a review by global regulators. Post-Fox, Disney studio chief Alan Horn will have to make choices about which newly acquired franchises to greenlight, including "Avatar", "Planet of the Apes" and "Alien", all of which could also be ripe for expanded merchandise and theme-park attractions.
The U.S. Justice Department approved the deal in June, with the stipulation that Disney divest itself of Fox regional sports networks that compete with Disney-owned ESPN.
Disney still needs deal approval from more than a dozen countries, including China, Russia and regulators from the European Union.
