Sources claim Disney and Fox are close to reaching a deal, might announce plans next week

WDWNT.com

We reported earlier last month that Disney and 21^st Century Fox have been in talks for the former to acquire Fox’s studio and television production assets, with Fox retaining its news and sports arms. And report has it the two are close to reaching an agreement, even with Comcast in the picture, and sources claim the deal could be announced as early as next week. The deal will have Disney owning entertainment assets like 20^th Century Fox film and TV studios, FX Networks and National Geographic Cannels cable groups, regional Fox Sports and 39% interest in Euro satcaster Sky, as well as international channels like Star India outlet. Disney is also supposedly buying out Fox’s 30% interest in Hulu, which is seen as Disney’s initial step to building its standalone streaming service. The deal is expected to be an all-stock transaction with Fox’s assets valued at around US$60 billion.

The move is also seen as a way to resolve Disney’s CEO succession issue. Bob Iger has had to extend his contract twice since setting his retirement back in 2015. But with the likes of 21^st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch and 21^st Century Fox President Peter Rice in the mix, they’re seen as possible candidates to replace Iger.

Source:  Variety + CNBC 

21st Century Fox reportedly in talks with Disney to sell most of its company

If we were honest, this is what we thought of when we heard the news. (Image courtesy of: Marvel.com)

There are reports going around claiming Disney and 21^st Century Fox are currently in talks about the latter selling off most of its company to the multimedia production giant. According to CNBC, it has been happening in the past few weeks but there aren’t any guarantees that it’ll lead to a deal. They describe the talks as being “on again, off again.” If the deal pushes through, it’s said Fox will give up most of its properties except those that revolve around news and sports. It seems senior management at Fox see that they can’t compete in the changing media landscape and sees Disney and its big machine capable of competing against the big internet companies that are leading the charge now (e.g. Facebook, Netflix, Google, and Amazon, to name a few).

For Disney, this deal would be advantageous as it preps its own streaming service. They’d gain access to more movie and TV productions to add to their own streaming offering. And if you’re thinking what we’re thinking, we might finally get that X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four crossover that we’ve been waiting for. (Even Ryan Reynolds is wondering what this deal could mean for his character Deadpool.) At the moment, nothing is for sure yet but we’re keeping our eyes out for this.