Disney says acquisition of 21st Century Fox to close on March 20

LOS ANGELES, march 12 (Xinhua) -- The Walt Disney Company announced Tuesday that its 71.3-billion-U.S. dollar acquisition of most of 21st century Fox is expected to close on march 20.

"The Acquisition is expected to become effective at 12:02 a.m. Eastern Time on march 20, 2019, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions to the consummation of the Acquisition set forth in the documentation governing such transaction," said the California-headquartered company in a statement.

21st century Fox shareholders will receive a mix of cash and stock in the industry-changing transaction.

To strengthen its lead in U.S. media and entertainment industry, Disney announced a deal to acquire many parts of 21st century Fox for a price of 52.4 billion dollars in an offer in December 2017. But Comcast, an American global telecommunications conglomerate, offered a 65-billion-dollar all-cash bid, prompting Disney to increase its bid to 71.3 billion dollars in cash and stock.

The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice cleared Disney's acquisition in June 2018, paving the way for the company to win the bid.

The transaction includes 21st century Fox's film and television studios, cable entertainment networks and international TV businesses, which brought popular entertainment properties including X-Men, Avatar, The Simpsons, FX Networks and National Geographic to Disney's portfolio.