Disney Wins Approval to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets
Disney won approval for its $71.3 billion bid to buy 21st Century Fox assets on the condition that it sells off Fox's local sports networks, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
The news came after reports that Comcast is reportedly considering strategic partnerships with other companies or private equity firms in order to outbid Disney, according to the Wall Street Journal. While no immediate plans are in the works, the Journal said Comcast could turn to these options, if bidding for Fox got into the $90 billion range.
Fox announced last week it agreed to Disney's offer, which the company was forced to raise from its original $52.4 billion bid made last December. The increase came after Comcast put in a competing all-cash $65 billion offer in the wake of a judge's approval of AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner earlier this month.
Both media giants are looking for new revenue streams amid increasing competition from streaming companies like Netflix and Hulu.
One potential strategy for Comcast, according to the Journal, would be for a partner to take Fox's U.S. properties ー ie, its movie and TV studios and regional sports networks ー while Comcast gets the international assets, including Britain's Sky and Star India.
It's unclear when and if Comcast will make a move, though, as Disney and Fox postponed a shareholder vote on their deal originally scheduled for July 10. Potential partners were also not disclosed.
The DoJ is only one of the many regulators Disney needs to appease to get final approval for its deal.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
