A month ago it was reported that the Disney Company had entered early talks to acquire 21st Century Fox. Discussions ended with no deal made (Fox also reportedly had discussions with Sony and Universal). Now we have an update.
Disney and Fox have reentered talks, and have begun to progress rapidly with both sides going dark, prompting the speculation that they are close on a deal. Disney made similar rapid and silent progress in its purchase of Lucasfilm back in 2012, so it’s possible that fans of the X-Men, Fantastic Four and related characters may be looking at a pretty damn good Christmas present: Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige having access to just about every character ever dreamed up by Marvel Comics creators! With Marvel still able to realign its film slate following Avengers 4, this news could NOT come at a more opportune time.
However it should be noted once a deal is made, the transition can take even longer, so it could be years before Marvel Studios is able to use the characters it would gain from Fox.
*UPDATE*
Disney and 21st Century Fox are close to a $60 billion merger deal, according to David Faber. That dollar amount is an approximate enterprise value of the assets involved in the potential agreement, per the CNBC reporter.
The “Squawk on the Street” co-anchor says the deal could be announced as early as next week.