Disney-Fox Officially Receives China’s Regulatory Approval

Disney-Fox
A few weeks ago, word got out that China was set to greenlight the massive merger between Disney and the majority of 21st Century Fox. Now, Chinese regulators have officially given the Disney-Fox merger permission to happen in that region.

 

CNBC reports that Disney-Fox is a-okay according to China’s regulators, with there being no concessions asked for by the country’s government. There were recently concerns that China would block a deal in retaliation for the United States blocking a merger between major Chinese companies, and certain economic policies that the United States Government has been pushing against China would put the deal at risk, but it’s readily apparent that neither issue will affect this deal. (As it stands, Disney and Fox’s superhero movies do incredibly well in the region, while Disney have two major parks in the area.) Stocks for both Disney and Fox shot up in response to the good news.

The news that the Middle Kingdom’s regulators have approved the deal comes two weeks after the entire European Union agreed to approve it, albeit with some concessions where the television market was concerned. Both the EU and China were seen as places where the merger could have run into significant snags, but with both of them cleared, it’s only a matter of time until we get to the point where Disney-Fox is 100% a reality. There are some other markets where the deal needs to be approved in, and some markets where the deal is already approved in will still need to get their paperwork finished.

 

At this point, it seems like the merger will complete well before the previously-expected window of Summer 2019, with some expecting it to be cleared as soon as Spring 2019. Disney’s CEO Bob Iger plans to reveal details on what the company’s plans for Fox assets will be next April, so it’s possible that the deal could wrap up as early as next March. The Disney-Fox merger comes at an ideal time for both companies, as the Disney+ streaming service is set to launch at the end of 2019, and plenty of Disney and Fox content can now be included on the service at launch.