Fox Shareholder Files Complaint to Prevent Disney's Acquisition



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A shareholder of Fox brought an action in opposition to Disney purchase of the bulk of 21st Century Fox's film and media empire. Robert Weiss, leader of the other shareholders, filed suit Friday in the Delaware federal court.

Last December, Disney and Fox reached an agreement that could transform Hollywood. Fox executives believe that the company does not have the scale needed to compete in the digital age and therefore aim to get out of the film and television industry and to focus on the news. Disney, for its part, would get Fox's extensive back-catalog for distribution on their upcoming streaming service, as well as an improved international distribution network. Disney has found itself faced with unexpected competition when its competitor Comcast has made an unsolicited bid, but there is a good chance that Disney's offer will be approved by Fox shareholders when they will vote later in the month. Regulators recently approved Disney's purchase after only six months of deliberations

Related: Only 6 months: Why the Disney / Fox merger was approved so fast

But all the world is not happy with Disney's proposal. According to THR Weiss filed a complaint against the agreement. He argues that the company's financial projections are inaccurate, particularly with respect to Hulu and Sky, and that there is an undeclared conflict of interest for Goldman Sachs and Centerview Partners, which performed the analyzes financial evaluation. The shareholders' lawsuit complains that Disney and Fox have not provided any forecasts for Hulu, or profit estimates for the European Sky broadcaster.


Moviegoers tended to focus on the potential impact of the deal on the superhero genre. the possibility of adding the X-Men and the Fantastic Four in the cinematic universe of Marvel. In reality, there is much more at stake here than the MCU. If the agreement goes ahead, it will radically reshape Hollywood. Disney's streaming service, scheduled for launch in 2019, would be an immediate competitor for Netflix. Meanwhile, international distribution networks such as Sky would give Disney a much larger global reach than ever before.

It is quite remarkable that the Disney / Fox merger was approved by the Department of Justice in just six months. President Trump made a big deal on the antitrust laws on the campaign trail, and the DoJ sued in an attempt to block the AT & T / Time Warner merger. Analysts had initially predicted that Hulu would be a potential problem for the DoJ, but surprisingly this was not the case; instead, the DoJ's attention is focused on the potential impact of the agreement on wired sports programming. Rather than argue the point, Disney acquiesced, agreeing to get rid of Fox's 22 regional sports networks if the case went ahead. This seems to have been enough for the DoJ to give its approval. Fox shareholders must vote on July 27 to decide whether or not they accept Disney's proposal.

This is why this pursuit is particularly interesting. The complainant argues that, " unless remedied, public shareholders of the 21CF will be forced to make a decision to vote or assessment on the proposed transaction without disclosing all information important information regarding the proposed transaction provided to them. will be fascinating to see how the courts decide in this case.

More: Each Disney Franchise Film Purchased From Fox

Source: THR

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