The Walt Disney Company declared that it had made a deal to buy the assets of 21st Century Fox in a transaction valued at $52.4 billion

While the agreement is yet to be approved by antitrust regulators, the acquisition promises to reshape Hollywood and Silicon Valley.

With this acquisition, Disney can become a true competitor to Netflix, Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook.

However, the move also means that 20th Century Fox will be downsized and some operations will be folded into Walt Disney Studios or refocused to make movies designed for online distribution.

Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chairman and chief executive decided to renew his contract for the fourth time in order to complete the integration. By doing this, he delayed his retirement from July 2019 to the end of 2021.

“We’re honored and grateful that Rupert Murdoch has entrusted us with the future of businesses he spent a lifetime building,” Mr. Iger said in a statement.

Mr. Murdoch added, “I firmly believe that this combination with Disney will unlock even more value for shareholders as the new Disney continues to set the pace in what is an exciting and dynamic industry.”

What’s not included in the acquisition: Fox News, the Fox broadcast network and the FS1 sports cable channel.

Source: nytimes.com