Disney announced Thursday it would acquire much of 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion in stock, with the deal closing after more than a month of talks.
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Disney will lease space on the Fox lot in Century City for seven years in the aftermath of Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, multiple individuals with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap.
It’s unclear when Disney will become Fox’s tenant because the merger will take 12 to 18 months to complete, pending regulatory approval. The Murdochs will continue to own the west L.A. lot.
In a town hall meeting on the lot on Thursday, 21st Century Fox president Peter Rice informed employees of the lease agreement and assured them that no one would be relocated from the lot in the near future.
Also Read: Disney Acquires 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion
On Thursday, Disney officially acquired much of 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion in stock, with the mammoth deal closing after more than a month of talks.
The buyout infuses the Mouse House with a bevy of Fox properties, including its film and TV studios and much of its non-broadcast television business, including FX, regional sports networks and Nat Geo, among other channels. Properties like “X-Men,” “Fantastic Four” and “Deadpool” will return to the Marvel family at Disney, alongside “Avatar” and “The Simpsons.”
Also Read: Behind the Disney-Fox Merger: 7 Things We Still Need to Know – and 3 We Already Do
Meanwhile, the Murdoch-run Fox will retain the Fox Broadcasting network and 28 owned-and-operated U. S. TV stations, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FS1, FS2 and Big Ten Network. These will be formed into a “new FOX” company that will be spun off to its shareholders.
The total transaction value of this mega-deal is approximately $66.1 billion.
13 Times ‘The Simpsons’ Predicted the Future (Photos)
“The Simpsons” has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump’s presidency to Nobel Prize winners. Here are 12 times the long-running comedy series got it right.
Lady Gaga
On the episode “Lisa Goes Gaga,” Lady Gaga is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI’s halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium’s roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode. Fox
2016 Nobel Prize Winner
In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and, sure enough, in 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart were announced as joint winners of the prize. Fox
Donald Trump Presidency
Seventeen years ago in an episode titled “Bart to the Future,” Lisa becomes president after Donald Trump, apparently, ruined the economy.
Fox
Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack
In 1993, an episode titled “$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling),” magicians in a Siegfried and Roy-like show got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.
In 2003, Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.
Fox
Arnold Palmer
On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer joke… on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.
Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to “Arnold Palmer” his pal Lenny.
“Arnold Palmer Lenny?” Marge responds. “You’re going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?”
He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture — which was named after the golfer. Fox
Faulty Voting Machine
During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when votes cast for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.
In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but… his vote went to McCain instead. Fox
Higgs Boson
In a 1998 episode, “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace,” Homer writes out an equation on a chalkboard which, if solved, “you get the mass of a Higgs boson that’s only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is,” says Simon Singh, science author. Fox
Horse Meat Scandal
In 1994, an episode titled “Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baadasssss Song,” the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled “assorted horse parts” and putting the meat into the school’s lunch pot.
In 2013, it was reported that traces of horse DNA was found in beef products across the UK.
Fox
Guitar Hero
The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.
But in a 2002 “The Simpsons” episode, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has “guitar hero” printed on the back of it. Fox
Farmville
The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.
In a 1998 episode, “The Simpsons” shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator. Fox
Old Beatles Letters
In Season 2’s episode 18, “Brush With Greatness,” Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: “They took the time to write me, and I don’t care if it takes me another 20 years. I’m going to answer every one of them.”
Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney 50 years later. Fox
Smart Watches
Sorry Apple, but “The Simpsons” had smart watches first.
In a 1995 episode in which the show is set in the future, Lisa’s husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.
The first smartwatch wasn’t created until 2013. Fox
Disney Owns Fox
Back in 1998, a quick scene in “The Simpsons” showed 20th Century Fox as “a Division of Walt Disney Co.” And late in 2017, Disney was deep in talks to acquire much of the Fox empire, including the film and TV studio. Fox Previous Slide Next Slide
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From Donald Trump’s presidency to Nobel Prize winners to Disney buying Fox
“The Simpsons” has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump’s presidency to Nobel Prize winners.
