Shareholders at Twenty-First Century Fox and The Walt Disney Company agreed at separate meetings on Friday to approve the Disney proposal to acquire Fox and for the spin-off of certain parts of the company.
It will pay $71 billion for the film and television business.
Comcast had also been in the frame to acquire Fox, but withdrew its bid after Disney raised its offer last month. The US cable company behind NBC Universal said it would concentrate on a separate bid for Sky.
“Combining the 21CF businesses with Disney and establishing new ‘Fox’ will unlock significant value for our shareholders,” said Rupert Murdoch, Executive Chairman, 21st Century Fox. “We are grateful to our shareholders for approving this transaction. I want to thank all of our executives and colleagues for their enormous contributions in building 21st Century Fox over the past decades. With their help, we expect the enlarged Disney and new ‘Fox’ companies will be pre-eminent in the entertainment and media industries.”
“We’re incredibly pleased that shareholders of both companies have granted approval for us to move forward, and are confident in our ability to create significant long-term value through this acquisition of Fox’s premier assets,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “We remain grateful to Rupert Murdoch and to the rest of the 21st Century Fox board for entrusting us with the future of these extraordinary businesses, and look forward to welcoming 21st Century Fox’s stellar talent to Disney and ultimately integrating our businesses to provide consumers around the world with more appealing content and entertainment options.”
While US regulators have already approved the plan, permission still needs to be granted by a number of US territories.
