Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets is not completely done yet, but they have cleared the final major hurdle. Shareholders for both companies approved the $71.3 billion deal in a meeting today at the Hilton Midtown Hotel in New York. According to The Hollywood Reporter it was a short approval process.
Within eight minutes, the “combination merger proposal” from 21st Century Fox received a majority of votes from its shareholders to approve the deal for Disney to acquire a number of Fox assets.
Disney’s acquisitions include the 21st Century Fox TV and movie studio, Star India, FX, Nat Geo, Fox’s 30 percent stake in Hulu and Fox’s 39 percent stake in Sky, a European pay TV company that Comcast is still looking to acquire. The company also technically acquires Fox’s 22 regional sports networks, but Disney had to agree to sell those off before the Department of Justice would approve the deal.
Comcast, who was bidding for the same assets, did eventually pull out of the competition, but not before forcing Disney to increase its bid substantially. According to The Hollywood Reporter one Disney shareholder did object to the deal, saying the price was too high, but that person was in the vast minority.
