The full and final knitting together of the many assets owned by Disney and Fox may be a number of years away due to pre-existing deals and agreements, but the sheer size of the merger is causing ripples to circle out across the film industry and beyond. The Hollywood Reporter take a look at the European Commission and their decision to extend the review period to 11th November. Clearly there’s a lot to go through.
The Walt Disney Co. has offered unspecified concessions in its bid to get regulatory approval for its planned $71.3 billion takeover of large parts of 21st Century Fox, the European Commission said Monday.
Neither Disney nor the Commission provided details about the concessions offered by Disney in its attempt to allay antitrust concerns surrounding the Fox deal. The Commission said it has extended the deadline for its review of the deal from Oct. 19 to Nov. 11.
The regulator is expected to seek feedback from customers and rivals of the two media giants before deciding whether to accept Disney’s concessions or demand more. Disney secured approval from the U.S. Justice Department for the deal in June on the condition that it will sell off Fox’s 22 regional sports networks.
Disney’s position in the European television market should be less problematic after the company failed in its bid to acquire Fox’s stake in European pay TV giant Sky, losing out in a separate auction to Comcast, which itself had tried, unsuccessfully, to acquire much of Fox.
There’s every chance the complexity of this deal could make Brexit look like a casual discussion over tea and scones, so expect this one to run.
