Disney Confirms $52 Billion Fox Acquisition, Marvel And X-Men Film Rights Finally United

The sale of 21st Century Fox to Disney is happening. A press statement from Disney has confirmed that the studio is acquiring Fox's entertainment assets for $52.4 billion.

The sale includes Fox's film and television studios, cable entertainment networks such as cable networks like FX, FXX, Nat Geo, and its international TV businesses. Disney's previous stake in Hulu now becomes a controlling interest, and the studio will also have a 39% ownership of Sky TV in Europe. The statement also notes that Disney CEO Bob Iger will remain in charge through to 2021.

The sale also means that Disney is gaining the film rights to X-Men and the Fantastic Four, two major Marvel properties that have been unable to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also gives Disney a much bigger library to monetize when it comes to streaming.

In a statement, Iger said: "The acquisition of this stellar collection of businesses reflects the increasing consumer demand for a rich diversity of entertainment experiences that are more compelling, accessible and convenient than ever before. We're excited about this extraordinary opportunity to significantly increase our portfolio of well-loved franchises and branded content to greatly enhance our growing direct-to-consumer offerings. The deal will also substantially expand our international reach, allowing us to offer world-class storytelling and innovative distribution platforms to more consumers in key markets around the world."

The company plans to launch its own streaming service in 2019 to compete with Netflix. With the Disney and Fox film and TV libraries to beef it up, Netflix, the current king of streaming, may not be able to keep up. It would also give Disney many more film franchises under its belt--Die Hard, Alien, and Avatar, just to name a few.