Walt Disney Co. is approaching the red zone with its $ 71 billion offering for an asset collection of Twenty-First Century Fox.

The Justice Department on Wednesday approved the deal after Disney agreed to sell Fox's 22 regional sports networks included in the deal.

Disney and Fox reached a $ 52.4 billion deal in December 2017 for Fox's television and movie studios, cable channels such as FX and National Geographic, and other assets, including 30% of the service. Hulu streaming and 39% of the UK market. Pay TV and Sky broadband service provider.

But the DOJ said that allowing Disney, which also owns ESPN and its sports network family, to also acquire Fox's 22 regional sports networks, "would likely lead to higher prices for wired sports programming" to pay television operators. . This in turn could result in higher prices for consumers.

"US consumers have benefited from direct competition between Disney's and Fox's cable programs, which ultimately prevented cable TV subscriber prices from rising further," said Attorney General Deputy Makan Delrahim in a statement. "Today's regulations will ensure that the sports programming competition is preserved in local markets where Disney and Fox compete for cable and satellite distribution."

Disney has agreed to divest networks "rather than continue the ongoing investigation into the merger of the antitrust division," said the DOJ Wednesday.

In a statement, Disney said, "We are delighted that the DOJ has concluded that, with the exception of the Fox Sports Regional Networks acquisition project, the transaction will not harm the competition, and that we We have been able to resolve the limited potential concerns, positioning ourselves to move forward with this exciting opportunity that will allow us to create even more compelling consumer experiences. "

Under the agreement with the DOJ, Disney has 90 days from the closing date of the acquisition of Fox's assets to sell the networks. The networks are spread across the United States, including YES (New York Yankees), Fox West Sports / Prime Ticket (UCLA, USC, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Clippers) and Fox Sports Ohio / Ohio SportsTime (Cleveland Cavaliers) , Cincinnati Reds, Ohio State University).

If Disney had not accepted the sale, the Justice Department was ready to go ahead with antitrust action to block the sale.

Now, Disney with the blessing of the DOJ and Fox's board of directors, could see the deal close when shareholders of both companies vote on July 10, according to the filing. Fox's board of directors has suggested to shareholders to approve the Disney sale, according to a securities commission deposit dated Monday.

In the SEC filing, Fox's board of directors announced the announcement made by the DOJ on Wednesday that an agreement with Disney would be "likely to receive the required regulatory approvals and eventually be consumed". However, the board argued that a transaction with Comcast involved a "higher regulatory risk" and that it could be delayed or denied.

Concerns about regulatory approval were tempered when a federal judge ruled two weeks ago against the antitrust lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice to block the acquisition of Time Warner by AT & T for $ 85 billion.

Another offer could come from Comcast, which two weeks ago made its own cash offer of $ 65 billion. The pay TV provider, who also owns NBC Universal, is negotiating with other partner companies or private equity companies in case he needs more money for another call for tenders. , The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

This bidding war was launched by 21st Century Fox executive president, Rupert Murdoch, and his sons James and Lachlan, who control the media company, and their plan to refocus Fox on news and live sports .

For Disney, this DOJ condition was not totally unexpected. Disney had stated that it would agree to divest the networks if it was necessary to obtain the approval of the transaction before the termination date, according to Monday's SEC filing.

More: A Fox-Comcast deal faces a "higher regulatory risk" than the one with Disney, says Fox

Follow Mike Snider, USA TODAY reporter, on Twitter: @MikeSnider.

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