Disney Makes $52.4 Billion Deal for 21st Century Fox in Big Bet on Streaming
- 6 years ago
Disney Makes $52.4 Billion Deal for 21st Century Fox in Big Bet on Streaming
In the news release announcing the Disney deal, Mr. Murdoch said he would spin those businesses
and a handful of other properties, including the 20th Century Fox lot in Century City, which Disney is not buying, into a newly listed company.
LOS ANGELES — In a move that will reverberate from Hollywood and Silicon Valley to TVs and smartphones around the world, the Walt Disney Company said Thursday
that it had reached a deal to buy most of 21st Century Fox, the empire controlled by Rupert Murdoch, in an all-stock transaction valued at roughly $52.4 billion.
We are pivoting at a pivotal moment.”
Mr. Murdoch’s older son, Lachlan, 21st Century Fox’s executive chairman, added
that the move was “about returning to our roots as a lean, aggressive challenger brand” that would be “focused at the beginning on must-watch news and live sports.”
There has been speculation that Mr. Murdoch’s other son, James, who is chief executive of 21st Century Fox, would join Disney in a senior role.
“If they look at it from a consumer point of view,” Mr. Iger said, “they should quickly conclude
that the aim of this combination is to create more high-quality product for consumers around the world and to deliver it in more innovative, more compelling ways.”
When Mr. Iger announced Disney’s streaming strategy in September, he said, “We’re going to launch big,
and we’re going to launch hot.” At the time, his comment was viewed in Hollywood as old-fashioned showboating.
There, Mr. Iger and Mr. Murdoch chatted about the way technology was roiling the media business, according to Mr. Iger, who came away thinking — to his surprise —
that Mr. Murdoch might be open to a merger discussion.
In the news release announcing the Disney deal, Mr. Murdoch said he would spin those businesses
and a handful of other properties, including the 20th Century Fox lot in Century City, which Disney is not buying, into a newly listed company.
LOS ANGELES — In a move that will reverberate from Hollywood and Silicon Valley to TVs and smartphones around the world, the Walt Disney Company said Thursday
that it had reached a deal to buy most of 21st Century Fox, the empire controlled by Rupert Murdoch, in an all-stock transaction valued at roughly $52.4 billion.
We are pivoting at a pivotal moment.”
Mr. Murdoch’s older son, Lachlan, 21st Century Fox’s executive chairman, added
that the move was “about returning to our roots as a lean, aggressive challenger brand” that would be “focused at the beginning on must-watch news and live sports.”
There has been speculation that Mr. Murdoch’s other son, James, who is chief executive of 21st Century Fox, would join Disney in a senior role.
“If they look at it from a consumer point of view,” Mr. Iger said, “they should quickly conclude
that the aim of this combination is to create more high-quality product for consumers around the world and to deliver it in more innovative, more compelling ways.”
When Mr. Iger announced Disney’s streaming strategy in September, he said, “We’re going to launch big,
and we’re going to launch hot.” At the time, his comment was viewed in Hollywood as old-fashioned showboating.
There, Mr. Iger and Mr. Murdoch chatted about the way technology was roiling the media business, according to Mr. Iger, who came away thinking — to his surprise —
that Mr. Murdoch might be open to a merger discussion.