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Walt Disney Company $52 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's television and international businesses

20/3/2019
Private acquisition
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$ 52 billion

Completed

20/3/2019

Overview:

  • The Walt Disney Company has acquired the film and TV business of 21st Century Fox for  $52 billion. 
  • The businesses acquired will be film and TV studios, international TV businesses, 22 regional sports networks and the cable entertainment networks. 
  • The remaining part of Fox will focus on sport and TV news and will include Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Sports and Fox Television Stations Group.
  • The acquired assets allows Disney to compete with rivals like Netflix and Amazon. The company has announced its intention to launch two streaming services by 2019.
  • Goldman Sachs is providing a bridge loan to help finance the acquisition.
  • Guggenheim Securities and JPMorgan Securities acted as financial advisers to Walt Disney.

Katrin Kostadinova - Data analyst 

Jurisdictions:

United States
India

Deal type:

Private acquisition

Practice area:

M&A

Governing law:

United States

Industry sectors:

Media
Entertainment

Firms:
A&O Shearman

Party: 21st Century Fox (Target)

Lawyer: Seth Jones

AZB & Partners

Party: 21st Century Fox (Target)

Cravath Swaine & Moore

Party: Walt Disney Company (Acquirer)

Lawyer: Faiza Saeed

Debevoise & Plimpton

Party: Guggenheim Securities (Financial adviser)

Party: JPMorgan Securities (Financial adviser)

Lawyers: Jeffrey Rosen, William Regner

Hogan Lovells

Party: 21st Century Fox (Target)

Lawyers: Amy Freed, Keith Flaum

Macfarlanes

Party: Walt Disney Company (Acquirer)

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Party: 21st Century Fox (Borrower)

Lawyers: Joseph Kaufman, Patrick Ryan

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom

Party: 21st Century Fox (Target)

Lawyers: Brandon Van Dyke, Howard Ellin

Slaughter and May

Party: Walt Disney Company (Acquirer)

Lawyer: Stephen Cooke

Weil Gotshal & Manges

Party: Goldman Sachs (Lender)

Lawyers: Corey Chivers, Raymond Gietz

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