The Disney Fox merger could be a deal done earlier than expected

Last November, when the news of Disney announced the purchase of 21st Century Fox, the question was whether. Now, after a bidding war, a buy and shareholder approval, it's about knowing when, like when exactly this merger will become permanent. It seems that this moment may come sooner than expected, when Fox was potentially ready to close the deal on January 1st.

As reported by Variety, Peter Rice, president of 21st Century Fox, told employees that Fox would be ready for the merger of the logistics point of view of New Year's Day. This basically means that New Fox, which remains of the company that was not part of the Disney purchase, will be ready to exist and operate autonomously on January 1st.

This does not mean that once the ink is dry, the agreement will be formally concluded and the X-Men will be back home on January 1 st. There are still obstacles and regulatory formalities to complete before this agreement is formally formalized. probably push the date beyond the calendar turn. However, Peter Rice said the deal was still nearing completion in the first or second quarter of 2019.

We have already heard that the agreement will become official by the summer of 2019, which seems to confirm that this will be the case. But the fact that Fox is ready to be launched on January 1st suggests the possibility that, if all goes well, they will be able to get started first.

In a plenary session with Fox employees, Peter Rice, who will join Disney on television when the deal is finalized, has also responded to employee concerns and shed some light on the future. He acknowledged that layoffs would occur, which employees feared because of redundant jobs between Disney and Fox.

Peter Rice also spoke about Disney's success in the past by integrating new organizations while allowing them to preserve their existing cultures, as was the case with Lucasfilm, Marvel and Pixar. He also pointed out that Disney is the only media conglomerate founded by an artist, Walt Disney, and not by a telecommunications operator.

What seemed so unlikely a little over a year ago, and seemed less likely, would happen when Comcast plunged into the fray, now seems a foregone conclusion. For better or for worse, sooner or later (and this seems to be sooner), Disney's purchase of Century 21 Fox television and television assets will be complete and the entertainment landscape will undergo tectonic change. of an epic scale.

This agreement will only be the largest, but not the only, of a huge 2019 for Disney that will also see the Mouse House launch its own streaming service.

Disney will not be the only studio to make waves at the box office next year. There are a ton of huge movies coming out of theaters after January 1st, so check them out in our 2019 broadcast schedule.