It looks like we are one huge step closer to a Disney and 21st Century Fox merger.
Last Friday, shareholders from both the Disney and Fox companies met to vote on the sale of 21st Century Fox to The Walt Disney Company. It turns out that both companies voted in favor of the deal.
After receiving almost unanimous approval from the voters, each meeting was adjourned after only about ten minutes. Only one shareholder protested the deal, claiming that Disney would be paying too much for the acquisition.
21st Century Fox CFO John Nallen reportedly told shareholders that they are aiming to seal the deal in the early half of 2019, meaning that Disney could own Fox’s assets much sooner than many of us expected.
The terms of the merger were originally agreed upon last December, but everything was put on hold when Comcast entered the fray and began a bidding war over Fox with The Walt Disney Company. Comcast finally decided to pull themselves out of the race after Disney’s latest offer of $71.3 billion in cash and company stock for 21st Century Fox’s assets. Now that the shareholders have come to a consensus, the deal is now in the hands of regulators across that globe that will decide if the merger can move forward.
This is big news for fans of comic book films and TV. 21st Century Fox’s assets include the rights to the X-Men, Deadpool, and Fantastic Four characters, and Disney’s acquisition of those rights would mean that we may finally see those franchises get ushered into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The deal won’t come without its negatives, though. The merger is expected to be accompanied by heavy job losses on both sides estimated at about 5,000 layoffs.
Should The Walt Disney Company and 21st Century Fox go through with this deal? Let us know what you think and stay tuned to The Nerd Stash for updates!
