disney set to buy fox

[wanye]

denofgeek/uk/movies/f...unced-thursday

Disney and Fox deal set to be announced Thursday
It seems the deal is done: Disney is indeed buying up Fox's film assets...

UPDATE: It looks like the deal is complete. A report at CNBC suggests that Comcast dropped out of the bidding for Fox's film assets at the start of the week, leaving the path clear for Disney. An all-stock deal has been agreed, apparently, and will be announced on Thursday. We'll keep you posted...

From last week...

Rumors of the Disney/21st Century Fox deal's demise may have been exaggerated. Walt Disney, Co. and 21st Century Fox have resumed discussions involving Disney acquiring Fox's movie studio, 20th Century Fox, FX, FXX, and other assets according to the Wall Street Journal.

News of the potential acquisition made waves throughout the entertainment and finance industries just last month. To the point where 21st Century Fox suspended trading activities. The initial reports were cautious, perhaps due to the hurdles the similar Time Warner and AT&T deal faced. Now Disney and Fox have re-engaged.

WSJ's report offers a clearer look at exactly what Disney would potentially acquiring. 20th Century Fox is indeed the centerpiece of the deal - both the movie studio and respective networks. Fox's 39% holding in Sky PLC and India's Star TV would be included in the deal as well. As would the aforementioned FX and FXX.

Fox is apparently interested in pivoting to mostly sports and cultural commentary, meaning Fox News and the sports network FS1 would stay put.

Rupert Murdoch is the majority shareholder of 21st Century Fox with 39% of shares and he will reportedly make a final decision by year's end.

The appeal of certain 21st Century Fox assets to Disney remain obvious and apparent. Disney is quickly cornering the movie blockbuster market with its Marvel and Lucasfilm brands. Not only would acquiring 20th Century Fox studios remove a major competitor, it would strengthen the Marvel brand by adding properties like X-Men and the Fantastic Four to the stable.

The societal and economic implications of the deal are certainly up for debate. But the potential for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to get all of its superhero friends under one tent is undoubtedly of appeal.

[floridafamily]

oh, is this the FOX Channel on sky? Sorry to be dim

if so, hope they keep programs like NCIS and Bull, I need my fix of Leroy Jethro Gibbs throughout the year, only reason I don't drop down to just freeview on Sky

[wanye]

Originally Posted by floridafamily

oh, is this the FOX Channel on sky? Sorry to be dim

if so, hope they keep programs like NCIS and Bull, I need my fix of Leroy Jethro Gibbs throughout the year, only reason I don't drop down to just freeview on Sky

See more...

im not sure if that would be included (it probably is) - its mostly about 20th Century Fox (the film company)... basically it means x-men could be brought into the marvel universe

[papamouse]

oh that's good, hopefully the toffs wont hunt them anymore.

[golden james]

Is anyone else concerned about this? Been watching this deal for some time and this is a major step for Disney. Parks and resorts generate a lot of money but nothing compared to the rest of Disney’s portfolio and are probably the biggest thorn in their side. I hope not but I can actually see them selling off p&r.

Thoughts?

[papamouse]

if you ask most people what does Disney mean to you I think they would say 1) the classic movies, 2) the parks.

I don't think anyone would say Mavel, Star Wars straight off the bat.

I think they like fingers in pies but cant see them dropping the iconic parks

if anything the are expanding parks

[Hal]

The takeover, which has just been formally announced, will make like even more interesting for Universal Resort, as Disney will now own, in addition to Marvel, the X-Men franchise, and The Simpson’s. Disney will also own Avatar after this takeover which could save it some licence money when and if the takeover is approved.

[bighal]

Don't forget as well that Disney will now also own all the Star Wars films as A New Hope was owned by FOX.

[66Caunce]

There's pros and cons to this, in my mind:

Pros - Disney adds more characters to the MCU in X-Men and Fantastic Four; majority ownership of Sky in the UK and Hulu - helping their streaming ambitions; Disney gets a massive back-catalogue of 21st Century Fox films for their new streaming service, putting massive pressure on loss-making Netflix; as someone else said, all Star Wars back catalogue would be under Disney ownership; Disney would own Avatar and all three sequels to come in the next few years.

Cons - Disney would own R-rated content like Deadpool; Disney would own FX and shows such as American Horror Story; James Murdoch would get a senior position on Disney's board and is a frontrunner to be the next CEO if the takeover happens; Disney would own The Simpson's and couldn't do anything about the deal in place at Universal Studios parks; The Murdochs would get about 5% of shares in Disney in exchange for the deal.

There's probably loads more but my over-riding thought is 'Disney know what they're doing'. I've stopped doubting them since being massively concerned about Beauty & the Beast and finding the live action remake to be absolutely fantastic.

I can't say I'm not concerned about the Murdochs getting their grubby little hands in the Disney pie though.

[Moorlandman]

Simpsons land to move to Disney Studios?