Disney Agrees to Buy Fox for $52b

The Walt Disney Co. has agreed to buy the bulk majority of 21st Century Fox from 86 year-old media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

The total amount will come to more than $66 billion, after the initial purchase price of $52.4 billion and the $13.7 billion in Fox debt that Disney plans to assume.

With the acquisition, Disney has acquired Fox’s television and film studios, its international holdings and additional unspecified investments. The company has also acquired Fox’s 39 percent ownership stake in satellite broadcast provider Sky.

With its new acquisition, Disney is now poised for considerable growth — especially in the international arena. Disney now also owns Tata Sky and Star India.

As explained in the BBC, moving forward Fox will focus primarily on news with its leftover assets. Meanwhile, Fox shareholders will get a 25 percent stake in Disney.

Perhaps the most interesting news to come out of the announcement is the fact that Disney will get majority control over the Hulu video streaming service. Now, Hulu will be owned by three separate companies — Disney, Comcast and Time Warner.

We can only speculate about the future of Hulu, but it’s worth questioning whether this service still has a future. While Disney does plan to invest heavily in streaming services, the idea that the three giants will be able to work together with Hulu seems like a stretch. It will be interesting to see what Disney has in store for Hulu now that they have a majority share in it.

For now, we can only sit back and wait to see what happens.