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Disney buys Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox for $52.4bn in stock Disney buys Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox assets for $66bn
(35 minutes later)
Walt Disney on Thursday agreed to buy film, television and international businesses from Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox for $52.4bn (£39bn) in stock. Walt Disney has agreed to snap up scores of assets from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox for $52.4bn (£39bn) – a massive deal that will dramatically reshape the media landscape worldwide.
Fox assets that will be sold to Disney, include the Twentieth Century Fox movie and cable networks. The Fox assets that will be sold to Disney include the 20th Century Fox movie studio. Disney will also assume about $13.7bn of net debt belonging to 21st Century Fox. Disney chief executive Bob Iger will extend his tenure until the end of 2021, overseeing the integration of the Fox assets.
Disney will also assume about $13.7bn of net debt of 21st Century Fox. He had already postponed his retirement from Disney three times. In March, he said he was committed to leaving the company in July 2019.
Disney chief executive Bob Iger, 66, will extend his tenure through the end of 2021 to oversee the integration of the Fox businesses. He has already postponed his retirement from Disney three times. In March, he said he was committed to leaving the company in July 2019. “We are extremely proud of all that we have built at 21st Century Fox, and I firmly believe that this combination with Disney will unlock even more value for shareholders as the new Disney continues to set the pace in what is an exciting and dynamic industry,” said Rupert Murdoch, who is the executive chairman of 21st Century Fox.
More to follow... “Furthermore, I’m convinced that this combination, under Bob Iger’s leadership, will be one of the greatest companies in the world. I’m grateful and encouraged that Bob has agreed to stay on, and is committed to succeeding with a combined team that is second to none.”
Under the terms of blockbuster deal, Disney will be the new owner of Fox’s FX and National Geographic cable channels, India’s main network Star, and its stake in Sky, listed here in the UK.
It will also buy Fox’s stake in Hulu, a video streaming service. That will give Disney majority control of a key competitor to Netflix.
Disney will have access to an estimated 46 million subscribers in three major markets – the US, Western Europe and India – according to Barclays analysts. 
Reuters noted that the deal would crucially also diversify Disney’s revenue, which is particularly important considering that US cable television subscribers are declining.
The combined company would own or operate 272 TV stations globally, according to the latest SEC filings, cited by Reuters.
News of a possible deal came as somewhat of a surprise to many in the market, especially because Mr Murdoch has for years been focused on expanding his sprawling empire rather than selling assets.
Analysts have, however, said the transaction would give him the opportunity to concentrate on the news business – his lifelong passion. He inherited the newspaper business from his father back in the 1950s and has built it up over decades, acquiring assets like the Wall Street Journal and The Times here in the UK.
Some analysts have also speculated that the rationale for the deal might be centred around growing competition within the industry and Fox’s struggle to keep up.
Technology and media companies are increasingly merging and consolidating. Verizon, for example, has bought AOL, the Huffington Post and Yahoo.
Disney has already demonstrated its ambition to try and keep up in the race against the likes of Amazon, Google and even Netflix. It owns Star Wars producer Lucasfilm and Marvel.