20th Century Fox is up for grabs, and it has a pair of high-powered suitors: Disney and Comcast. Last summer, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch began discussions about a potential acquisition. After learning of these talks, Verizon and Comcast expressed their own interest in buying the media company.
Fox isn’t going to be absorbed into either company entirely: its news and sports networks will be folded into a new company called New Fox, while its larger entertainment portfolio of films and television — and critically, its share of Hulu — would end up at one of the two companies.
It’s easy to see why both Disney and Comcast want Fox. It holds some extremely valuable intellectual property, from Avatar to Alien to X-Men; Disney’s been snapping up massive amounts of IP in recent years, and Comcast is looking to invest further in the franchise game, too, including outlets to distribute it.
Fox’s fate is far from certain: there’s been a real back-and-forth as both Disney and Comcast vie to outbid each other. Follow along for all of the updates and commentary from the business saga.
Comcast will own all of Sky as Fox sells its stake for $15 billion
Disney and Fox are ceding Sky to Comcast
Comcast gives up on buying 21st Century Fox assets and leaves Disney as the winner
Comcast will focus on acquiring Sky in Europe instead
Disney wins antitrust approval to acquire 21st Century Fox
But the deal isn’t done yet
Disney ups its Fox bid to $71.3 billion in response to Comcast offer
Begun, the bidding wars have
Comcast’s offer to buy Fox out from under Disney has MCU fans freaking out about X-Men
Fandom now requires taking sides in corporate mergers
What will Disney and Comcast own if they buy Fox?
Earlier this week, Comcast made a $65 million offer to acquire most of 21st Century Fox, attempting to derail a Disney-Fox acquisition that was announced last year. Here’s what both of those deals could look like.
Comcast makes $65 billion offer to steal 21st Century Fox away from Disney
Get ready for a bidding war
Comcast says it will bid on Fox, in attempt to block Disney acquisition
Even though Disney made an offer
The Disney-21st Century Fox deal: a timeline
Comcast and Verizon reportedly floated their own offers for the company
What does Disney’s acquisition of Fox mean for the MCU?
Opening the door for Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Deadpool
Disney has acquired 21st Century Fox’s film and TV studios in a landmark deal
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em
Disney is once again in talks to acquire 21st Century Fox
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again?
Disney reportedly held talks to acquire most of 21st Century Fox
This could go way beyond X-Men showing up in the next Avengers film