MOVIES & SHAKERS
21st Century Fox to sell entertainment assets to Disney in £49bn mega-deal
Deal means 'we're pivoting back to what we love' by focusing on news, sport and other 'real-time' content, says Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has agreed to sell its entertainment businesses to Walt Disney in a groundbreaking $66.1billion (£49billion) deal.
This includes the 20th Century Fox movie studio, a 39 per cent stake in broadcaster Sky, and Fox’s 30 per cent stake in Hulu, the digital streaming service.
2
Mr Murdoch will hold onto Fox News and UK newspapers including The Sun and The Times.
Explaining his rationale for selling a large part of his business empire, he told The Sun: “We are pivoting back to what we love – news and sport, which are things that happen in real time. Movies take a long time.
“The ways that consumers are watching entertainment is changing. There is a lot of disruption. Disney was the one fit that made sense. It wanted to bulk up its assets.”
He added: “I’ve also done this very much for our shareholders. They will own a quarter of the new Disney and 100 per cent of the new Fox.”
2
MOST READ IN NEWS
The deal, still subject to regulatory scrutiny, will allow Disney to boost its portfolio as it ramps up its direct-to-consumer offering.
Movie franchises such as Fox’s X-Men and Disney’s Star Wars will be united under one roof.
As part of the landmark agreement, Bob Iger, Disney’s chairman and chief executive, has extended his contract to 2021.
“We’re honoured and grateful that Rupert Murdoch has entrusted us with the future of businesses he spent a lifetime building,” Mr Iger said.
SpinCo to take Fox News 'over the top internationally'
Mr Murdoch and his son, Lachlan Murdoch, will continue to run the remaining Fox assets, which will be spun off in a company dubbed SpinCo.
Of his plans for SpinCo, Mr Murdoch said yesterday: “We will take Fox News over the top internationally. Ex pats will be able to watch it.”
The new company will also include the real estate of a studio production facility in Los Angeles. It is thought that this facility could work as a sound studio for Amazon.