A little over a year ago, The Walt Disney Company announced their intent to purchase a controlling share in 21st Century Fox. If this merger were to go through, Disney would own the lion’s share of the entire entertainment industry. Needless to say, the deal has been met with trepidation and scrutinization from all sides. The scrutiny may be coming to end soon, however; according to Disney’s chairman of direct-to-consumer and international offers, Kevin Mayer, the deal is nearly complete.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Meyer joked “The deal closing keeps me up at night, but it is almost done and closed. I’m eager to execute. I’m eager to get these services out in the public’s hands. That is an excitement more than it is a nervousness.” On the scope and difficulties of the deal, Meyer said There were a couple of times where it looked like there was a problem. We overcame it. It was the biggest [deal] we’ve ever done. We did have a moment or two when there was a disconnect in terms of value, but that’s to be expected. We didn’t pay a price we thought was unfair at any point.”
While there is no official date of completion just yet, the deal is expected to reach completion early on in 2019. A major shake-up in the entertainment industry could be right around the corner.
