The impending acquisition of 21st Century Fox assets by the Walt Disney Company has been delayed yet again.
Originally expected to close on Jan. 1, 2019, the plan then moved to late January. Now, a new report from Variety indicates that the deal has been pushed even further back and will close sometime in March.
The exact reason for the delay is unknown, but as deals valued at $71.3 billion go, it’s not really that surprising. The number of moving parts in this deal are astronomical and there were sure to be some speedbumps along the way.
One of the key ones still being ironed out as Fox’s region sports networks. The 22 sports outlets were included in the deal, but Disney will need to sell them off thanks to its control of ESPN. Some had believed Fox would buy them back, but apparently that is not going to be the case. The networks are valued at $20B, so finding a buyer may prove a bit of a challenge for the House of Mouse.
Once the Disney acquisition of Fox closes, then the real work will begin.
