According to Variety, Disney has agreed to sell off the the 22 regional sports networks currently owned by 21st Century Fox in order to have the Justice Department approve their recent $70+ billion offer to acquire the company presented earlier this month. This news is another positive sign for the Disney/21st Century Fox deal becoming official when all is said and done, but the door has not been totally shut yet on Comcast’s opportunity to increase their initial $65 billion all-cash offer in an attempt to top the Disney deal.
The situation remains fluid to say the least.
Disney has agreed to sell off 21st Century Fox’s 22 regional sports networks to secure Justice Department approval of its acquisition of major 21st Century Fox assets. The DOJ’s sign off on the $71.3 billion transaction on Wednesday gives Disney a big leg up over rival Comcast in the battle to acquire the major portion of Rupert Murdoch’s TV and film empire.
The Justice Department on Wednesday filed a complaint in federal court seeking to block Disney from acquiring 22 regional sports networks but announced a settlement agreement with Disney that calls for the divestitures. Anti-trust chief Makan Delrahim and other DOJ officials argued that Disney’s ownership of the national sports powerhouse ESPN created anti-competitive conflicts if it were to also acquire Fox’s regional channels, which serve some 61 million subscribers around the country.
