Disney £45bn Fox deal to be ‘done in days’

DISNeY was last night closing in on a deal to buy 21st Century Fox’s entertainment businesses for £45bn.

the two sides have been locked in talks for more than a month but could announce a sale within days – with many expecting it to happen next week.

the proposal is said to be preferred by the Murdoch family – who control Fox – over a rival bid by Comcast, as they would rather receive Disney stock as part of the deal. A deal with Disney is also expected to be easier to clear with uS competition regulators.

An agreement would break up the media empire built up over several decades by rupert Murdoch and reshape an industry that has been upended by new entrants such as Netflix and Amazon.

It could potentially see Murdoch’s son and Fox’s chief executive, James Murdoch, take on a senior executive role at Disney. there has even been suggestions that he could succeed Bob Iger as chief executive. Iger, 66, has already postponed his retirement three times so far as Disney hunts for a replacement.

Yesterday James Murdoch, 44, declined to comment on the reports, telling a conference in New York: ‘there’s nothing to add to that other than the nothing we’ve said so far.’

It was unclear last night what the deal might mean for Fox’s ongoing attempts to gain full control of Sky – it currently holds a 39pc stake in the satellite broadcaster.

that bid has run foul of competition regulators in the uK due to concerns it could give the Murdochs too much sway over the media.

But analysts at uBS have said that takeover rules mean the move by Disney– or any other potential buyer of Fox’s holding in Sky – would trigger a mandatory offer and would likely be approved swiftly by the Competition and Markets Authority.

Fox declined to comment, while Disney did not respond to requests for comment.

It comes after the uS Department of Justice’s move to try to block At&t’s £64bn deal to buy time Warner.