Just last year the Walt Disney Company and 21st Century Fox announced an agreement that Disney would acquire Fox’s key film and sports assets in a deal worth over $52.4 billion. Now it looks like the deal could be completed very soon.
Deadline reports that 21st Century Fox president Peter Rice held the first of two town meetings for Fox Networks Group staffers, where he informed attendees that the deal with The Walt Disney Company will likely be completed by the end of summer 2019. Rice has also begun informing employees of the looming deal.
The outlet reports that Rice expects management changes at Fox to be the announced over the next 12 months, as the company will have to be “up and running” on the day the Disney transaction is complete. Disney will lease offices on the Fox lot for the next 7 years once the deal is closed.
Some key film franchises that Disney would acquire would be Fox’s Marvel characters X-Men, Deadpool, New Mutants, as well as other franchises such as Avatar, Kingsman, Alien/Predator, amongst others. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has stated that he has not thought about integrating Fox’s Marvel characters into the MCU and won’t until after the deal is complete.
Source: Deadline
