Following the pull out of Comcast from the bidding war of the 21st Century Fox assets, Disney was finally able to lock down on the much-coveted stocks for the final bid of $71.3 billion.
To finalize the deal though, the bid required the approval of the 21st Century Fox shareholders. Majority of the shareholders are in agreement with Disney’s acquisition. With Disney’s bid, the deal will include 20th Century Fox film and TV studios, European Pay TV company, 39% stake in Sky, Nat Geo, Star India, 30% stake in Hulu, FX, and other assets.
The acquisition became easier for Disney after their rival Comcast dropped from the bidding war. The bidding war was actually heating up, with Comcast outbidding Disney’s original $52.4 billion bid with their own $66 billion bid. It wasn’t long after giving that bid that CEO Brian Roberts announced they are pulling out of the race though. However, they also announced that they will participate in the competition to acquire Sky. They already submitted a $34 billion bid for it.
The finalization of the deal happened at New York Hilton Midtown Hotel.
Disney Acquires 21st Century Fox: What Would Happen Now
There are a lot of implications for Disney buying out the assets of 21st Century Fox. One of the most notable advantages of this acquisition is that Disney now holds the right to the other popular Marvel characters that Fox once owns - yes, they are the X-Men, Silver Surfer, Vulcan, and so many more. With this, many Marvel fans are looking forward to upcoming Avengers films to see if any of these characters (especially the X-Men) would come over and show their prowess to help Iron Man, Captain America, and the rest of the Avengers gang save the world.
Aside from having these Marvel characters come together in one cinematic universe, you can look forward to a lot of other things from Disney’s Fox acquisition.