Disney to make £45bn bid for Fox this week

DISNEY is about to reveal a £45bn takeover of 21st Century Fox as soon as tomorrow, the Mail understands.

Sources say the two entertainment titans are on the verge of an agreement following weeks of talks in New York.

The final step came when rival bidder Comcast pulled out of negotiations on Monday.

When done it will herald the break up of the entertainment empire built by Rupert Murdoch over several decades. The mogul’s family will have a stake of up to 5pc in Disney, it is understood.

Both the 86-year-old’s sons, James and Lachlan, are expected to be worth £1.5bn each as a result. And James, 44, the chief executive of 21st Century Fox, is being lined up to succeed Bob Iger, Disney’s chief executive.

Iger, 66, has delayed his retirement three times due to a lack of obvious replacements, with his contract recently extended until July 2019. The takeover is expected to see Disney acquire movie studio 20th Century Fox, cable networks including FX and National Geographic, Fox’s regional sports networks, Endemol Shine and India’s Star, as well as Fox’s 39pc stake in satellite broadcaster Sky.

A new company set up by Fox would be left with Fox Sports and Fox News, with shareholders given stakes in the spin-out and in Disney. Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch would continue to run Fox’s broadcast businesses.

The assets to be bought by Disney were worth about $60bn (£45bn), although the broadcaster yesterday said that figure was not firm.

Analysts say the takeover will bulk up Disney’s content rights – giving it access to franchises such as X-Men, Avatar and Planet Of The Apes – and could lead to up to £375m of cost savings, with a big chunk possibly coming from Fox’s studio. It will also double the company’s stake in internet video streaming service Hulu to 60pc and hand it a major holding in Sky, which would hand Disney 22.5m customers in five European countries.

The Mail understands Fox’s proposed takeover of the rest of Sky – being examined by regulators – would be continued by Disney.

But if concerns about the impact on media plurality persist, sources indicated the company could offload or close down Sky News to ensure the takeover goes through – as had been previously threatened by Fox.

A deal would likely be scrutinised by the US Justice Department, which has previously blocked a merger between AT&T and Time Warner.

Last week the Murdochs sent staff a memo about the deal. It said it could not discuss it but sought to reassure employees.

It said: ‘In every way, our focus is on our businesses and on the welfare of all our colleagues.’

Last night both Fox and Disney declined to comment.