American media giant The Walt Disney Company has won the approval of the U.S. Justice Department over its bid to acquire the assets of the media company 21st Century Fox for US$71.3 billion.
But industry news website Variety reports that the department has ordered Disney to sell Fox’s regional sports networks, including Root Sports and New York-based YES Network, and the media giant will comply with the order.
The media giant initial bid to acquire assets including movie and television production studios, pay-TV services, and National Geographic Partners at US$52.4 billion, but was overshadowed by an all-cash offer by Comcast at about US$65 billion.
Comcast is a telecommunications company that owned Xfinity cable TV services, and NBCUniversal television and production operations.
The new bid of the media giant would be half-cash, half-stock, where shareholders would own 19% of the new combined company.
The deals does not include acquiring assets such as Fox broadcasting network and its own-and-operated stations, cable sports channel Fox Sports 1, and the cable news channel Fox News.
These assets are expected to be spun-off in a new company, which will be tentatively called “New Fox”.
