Things got much, much better for the Disney/Fox merger after shareholders for both companies overwhelmingly approved the deal earlier today. According to a report via Deadline, Disney claims 99% of their shareholders approved of the merger that would find the House of Mouse controlling Fox’s film and television library, gaining them access to countless media properties.
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The percentage of Fox investors who approved the merger will be revealed later in an SEC filing, but it seems we can apply the word “unanimous” to the approval from investors on both sides. Word is there were few comments from investors at Disney and Fox, and the whole process was apparently done in as little as 10 minutes.
Rupert Murdoch, Executive Chairman at Fox, put out a statement after the approval:
Combining the 21CF businesses with Disney and establishing new ‘Fox’ will unlock significant value for our shareholders. 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.
Disney CEO Bob Iger also put out a statement expressing his excitement over the acquisition of new properties and businesses:
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. 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.
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There are still numerous regulatory hurdles that need to be cleared before this is a done deal, but one of the larger ones was overcome not too long ago after the Department of Justice approved the merger. Even more positive news came for Disney when Comcast, another company vying for the Fox assets, dropped out of the deal, giving Disney a clear path to global domin – errrr – victory. In the end, both companies are predicting the deal will close sometime during early 2019.