Disney Is Reportedly Close To Buying Twenty-First Century Fox

Investing.com - Twenty-First Century Fox is exploring a potential sale and Disney is currently considered the frontrunner. A 60 billion dollar deal could come as soon as next week. Under the terms of the current reported negotiations, Disney, with a market value of approximately $166 billion, would acquire large chunks of the Fox empire in an all-stock transaction, including their movie studio and television production assets. Fox would be left as more of a news and sports broadcaster. Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is also reportedly interested, but according to a Reuters source, the Murdoch family which controls Fox, would prefer a deal with Disney because it would rather be paid in Disney stock. In addition to investor interest, superhero fans could be excited for a Disney deal with Fox as well. Disney currently owns the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while Fox owns X-Men and the Fantastic Four. A merger between the two companies means Deadpool and Wolverine could potentially battle the forces of evil alongside Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Captain America.Any potential deal would need to be approved by U.S. antitrust regulators, but their case would be strengthened in the face of competition from the massive influx of content coming from Silicon Valley, namely in the form of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX).