In this Aug. 8, 2017, file photo, The Walt Disney Co. logo appears on a screen above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
NEW YORK (AP) --
Disney's $71.3 billion acquisition of Twenty-First Century Fox's entertainment division is one step closer after shareholders approved the deal Friday.
The tie-up brings together Marvel's X-Men and Avengers franchises and creates an entertainment behemoth in the digital streaming era. The shareholder vote caps a saga that began in December 2017, when Disney made its first offer for part of Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate. It kicked off a bidding war with Comcast, which dropped out last week focus on attempted buyout of the European pay-TV operator Sky.
The Fox deal will help Disney compete with technology players like Amazon and Netflix. The agreement is not expected to close for several months and still requires regulatory approvals.
Dish Network satellite dishes are shown at an apartment complex in Palo Alto, Calif., Feb. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
DirecTV is calling off its planned acquisition of rival Dish after the offer was rejected by bond holders at that company.
The deal was reliant on Dish bond holders agreeing to trade in the debt they held for debt in the new company, a swap that would have cost them about $1.6 billion, collectively.
The retreat by DirecTV this week may end a years-long effort by the company to acquire both Dish and Sling after it announced the bid in September.
DirecTV was looking to acquire Dish TV and Sling TV from its owner EchoStar in a debt exchange transaction that included a payment of $1, plus the assumption of approximately $9.8 billion in debt. The deal was contingent on several factors, including regulatory approvals and bondholders writing off debt related to Dish.
"While we believed a combination of DirecTV and Dish would have benefited all stakeholders, we have terminated the transaction because the proposed exchange terms were necessary to protect DirecTV's balance sheet and our operational flexibility," DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in a statement.
The prospect of a DirecTV-Dish combo has long been rumored, and reported talks resurfaced over the years. And the two almost merged more than two decades ago — but the Federal Communications Commission blocked the deal valued at the time at $18.5 billion deal, citing antitrust concerns.
The pay-for-TV market has shifted significantly since. As more and more consumers tune into online streaming platforms, demand for more traditional satellite entertainment continues to shrink.
DirecTV says that it will continue to invest in next-generation streaming platforms and offer new packaging options while integrating content from live TV alongside direct-to-consumer... Read More
