Disney Closes On 21st Century Fox
• Effective at 12:02am ET on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, Disney officially closes on its $71 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox. That’s the word from Variety, who quotes Disney Chairman & CEO Bob Iger as saying, “This is an extraordinary and historic moment for us — one that will create significant long-term value for our company and our shareholders. Combining Disney’s and 21st Century Fox’s wealth of creative content and proven talent creates the preeminent global entertainment company, well positioned to lead in an incredibly dynamic and transformative era.”
Assets moving into the Disney camp in the deal include: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Family and Fox Animation; Fox’s television creative units, Twentieth Century Fox Television, FX Productions and Fox21; FX Networks; National Geographic Partners; Fox Networks Group International; Star India; and Fox’s interests in Hulu, Tata Sky and Endemol Shine Group. Disney emphasized that the transaction is designed to help the company “increase its international footprint” and “expand its direct-to-consumer offerings.”
Earlier on Tuesday, 21st Century Fox completed the separation of assets that are moving to Disney and those that will comprise the foundation of Fox Corporation, which began trading on the NASDAQ as a stand-alone entity on Tuesday morning.
Now comes the inevitable fallout from such a massive combination of assets — employees at both companies are now bracing for the impact of large-scale layoffs to come inside Disney in Burbank and Fox’s Century City HQ. Variety estimates the number of cuts could reach as high as 4,000 positions.
