Fox now part of Disney family in "historic day" that sees the Big Six become the Big Five
Disney has completed the acquisition of 20th Century Fox Film Corp. in a $71 billion deal.
Disney CEO Bob Iger called the deal "a historic day for our company" in an internal memo to the combined staff of both companies, even though the merger is likely to lead to 4,000 layoffs in the short-term.
In a full statement, Iger pointed to the long term value of the deal, despite the fact that finalisation of the deal has caused Disney shares to slide by more than 4%.
"This is an extraordinary and historic moment for us - one that will create significant long-term value for our company and our shareholders," Iger said in a statement. "Combining Disney’s and 21st Century Fox’s wealth of creative content and proven talent creates the preeminent global entertainment company, well positioned to lead in an incredibly dynamic and transformative era."
The acquisition deal includes not only the major Hollywood studio and its home entertainment arm, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, it also includes Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Family and Fox Animation; Fox’s television creative units, 20th Century Fox Television, FX Productions and Fox21; FX Networks; National Geographic Partners; Fox Networks Group International; Star India; and Fox’s interests in Hulu, Tata Sky and Endemol Shine Group.
This also means that the "Big Six" Hollywood studios are now the "Big Five", with Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros. and Columbia making up the list. Or it could be considered the "Massive One", Disney, and the "Big Four", since Disney now has more than double the market share of all other studios, and more than Universal, Paramount and Columbia combined.
Disney's acquisition of Fox also means that it now owns Fox's share of streaming platform Hulu, and is now the majority owner of the platform. Disney has previously outlined the future of Hulu, which will exist side-by-side with Disney's upcoming streaming platform, Disney+.
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