Disney Said to Have Held Talks to Acquire 21st Century Fox Assets
LOS ANGELES — The Walt Disney Company recently held preliminary talks to buy entertainment assets owned by 21st Century Fox, including the Fox movie
and television studio, the FX cable network and a share of Hulu.
Disney would also like movie rights held by Fox, most notably to the X-Men
and Fantastic Four characters, which were licensed to Fox by Marvel Entertainment before Disney bought that superhero company in 2009.
Medium-size players like 21st Century Fox may be realizing — or accepting —
that gaining the scale they need to compete may be out of reach at this point.
Buying certain Fox assets — at the right price — would make a lot of sense for Disney, analysts said on Monday.
Fox also holds a 30 percent share, with the balance owned by Comcast and Time Warner.
