- What happens to the remainder of Twenty-First Century Fox (FOX, FOXA) after a historic media asset combination with Disney? It becomes "Fox," a new "growth company centered on live news and sports brands."
- That means the most-watched cable news along with coveted long-term sports rights.
- Fox shares have turned lower premarket after an initial goosing: FOX -3% to $31.38; FOXA -3.8% to $31.50. The transaction values Twenty-First Century Fox at $28-$30 share depending on the Disney stock reference price used ($30/share, based on Disney's closing price yesterday).
- “The new Fox will draw upon the powerful live news and sports businesses of Fox, as well as the strength of our Broadcast Network," says Rupert Murdoch. "It is born out of an important lesson I’ve learned in my long career in media: Namely, content and news relevant to viewers will always be valuable. We are excited by the possibilities of the new Fox, which is already a leader many times over.”
- In a symbolic move, while Fox's moviemaking assets go to Disney, its studio lot in Los Angeles will stay with Fox.
- It's also keeping its equity investment in Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU).
- The company is planning to follow through with its acquisition of the rest of UK broadcaster Sky (OTCQX:SKYAY) before that interest goes to Disney; it expects the Sky acquisition to close by June 30.
- Now read: Roku Is In No Position To Compete With Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) And Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Original article