The Walt Disney Company and 21st Century Fox, Inc. announced this Thursday morning that they are entering an agreement for Disney to acquire 21st Century Fox, including the Twentieth Century Fox Film and Television studios, along with cable and international TV businesses, for approximately $52.4 billion in stock.
At the request of both 21st Century Fox and the Disney Board of Directors, Bob Iger has agreed to continue as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company through the end of calendar year 2021.
This announcement comes after weeks of rumors that the mass media and entertainment conglomerate was in the running against Comcast to buyout 21st Century Fox's entertainment properties outside of their news and business networks. On December 11, it was announced that Comcast had dropped its bid for 21st Century Fox.
Fox Broadcasting network and stations, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FS1, FS2 and Big Ten Network will separate from 21st Century Fox into a newly listed company that will be spun off to its shareholders under the ownership of the Murdoch family.
21st Century Fox is home to James Cameron's Avatar franchise, Marvel's X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool franchises, along with highly-acclaimed films such as The Grand Budapest Hotel, Hidden Figures, Gone Girl, The Shape of Water, and The Martian. This agreement provides Disney with the opportunity to reunite the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool with Marvel and create more creative and interwoven stories that will entertain audiences worldwide.
21st Century Fox is also home to television shows like The Americans, This Is Us, Modern Family, The Simpsons, Empire, Gotham and other massively popular series.
Disney will also acquire FX Networks, National Geographic Partners, Fox Sports Regional Networks, Fox Networks Group International, Star India and Fox’s interests in Hulu, Sky plc, Tata Sky and Endemol Shine Group.
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