US: Disney, Fox agree on asset purchase terms

Disney has officially upped its offer for the purchase of 21st Century Fox. It’s now offering to purchase the entertainment giant’s film and TV assets at a price of $38 per share, or roughly $71.3 billion, which is a drastic increase from the company’s original $52.4 billion deal that valued Fox at $28 per share, reported the Wall Street Journal.

Fox, in a news release, said the new Disney deal “is superior to the proposal” made by Comcast earlier this month.

The assets in play include the Twentieth Century Fox film and TV studio; U.S. cable networks including FX and regional sports channels; international assets including Sky and Star India; and Fox’s one-third stake in the streaming service Hulu.

Neither proposed deal includes Fox News, Fox Sports 1, the Fox broadcast network or its television stations. In either scenario, those assets would be spun off into a new company, for the moment dubbed “New Fox.”

Fox and Disney were negotiating terms of an amended agreement over the weekend and had the outlines of a deal by Tuesday, though they were nailing down details like the mix of cash and stock, a person close to the situation said.

Disney submitted its bid Wednesday ahead of a Fox board meeting in London, another person familiar with the situation said. Fox Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch and Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger met to discuss the new pact.

Full Content: The Wall Street Journal

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