Disney and Fox shareholders approve $71.3B merger

Deadpool and the X-Men could soon be saying, "Home, sweet Disney."

Marrian Zhou Staff Reporter

Marrian Zhou is a Beijing-born Californian living in New York City. She joined CNET as a staff reporter upon graduation from Columbia Journalism School. When Marrian is not reporting, she is probably binge watching, playing saxophone or eating hot pot.

See full bio

Marrian Zhou

July 27, 2018 9:00 a.m. PT

disney-fox-simpsons — Fox's entertainment assets, including The Simpsons, will soon become part of Disney.
The Simpsons

The Disney and Fox union has moved one step closer to completion.

Fox shareholders on Friday approved the sale of its entertainment assets to Disney for $71.3 billion, reported Bloomberg. Both companies' investors reportedly approved in separate votes at the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan.

Fox agreed to Disney's bid earlier in June and rejected Comcast's $65 million cash offer. 21st Century Fox is home to popular franchises such as X-Men , Deadpool , The Simpsons, Ice Age and Planet of the Apes. Disney could benefit from Fox's entertainment portfolio.

Comcast dropped out of the bidding war for Fox last week and moved on to UK broadcaster Sky.

Disney has reportedly received clearance from the US Justice Department to buy the Fox assets, but it still needs approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

"Combining the 21CF businesses with Disney and establishing new 'Fox' will unlock significant value for our shareholders," Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of Fox, said in a release. "With [all of our executives and colleagues'] help, we expect the enlarged Disney and new 'Fox' companies will be pre-eminent in the entertainment and media industries."