The Empire strikes back: Gigant Walt Disney kauft 20th Century Fox für 66 Milliarden Dollar

FMW-Redaktion

In Anlehnung an die Star Wars-Saga, die ja seit dem Zukauf von Lucasfilm auch im Eigentum von Walt Disney ist, kann man sagen: The Empire strikes back! Warum? Die „jungen wilden Rebellen“ namens Amazon und Netflix zerstören gerade massiv die alten Geschäftsmodelle der US-Medienlandschaft. Da heißt es „Flucht in die Größe“, zukaufen, wachsen“. Walt Disney tut nun genau dies.

Man kauft für 52,4 Milliarden Dollar den ehrwürdigen Anbieter 20th Century Fox. Mit der Übernahme von Schulden zahlt man insgesamt 66,1 Milliarden Dollar. Man kauft nicht mit Geld, sondern zahlt mit eigenen Aktien. Die Aktionäre von 21st Century Forex erhalten je eigener Aktie 0,27 Disney-Aktien. Damit hat man noch mehr Marktmacht als ohnehin schon. Das ist auch deshalb so wichtig, weil Disney gerade dabei ist seinen eigenen Streaming-Channel aufzubauen (Start im Jahr 2019), explizit als Konkurrenz zu Amazon und Netflix. Damit kann Disney für das eigene neue Angebot noch mehr exklusiven Content einbringen, welchen man Netflix nicht zur Verfügung stellen wird.

Dies ist bereits klar kommuniziert worden. Deshalb hatte Netflix unlängst seine Budgets erhöht um mehr eigene Produktionen auflegen zu können. Das Resultat? Kunden müssen wohl (wenn sie eine breite Palette sehen wollen) einen zweiten Streaming-Dienst dazu buchen, je nachdem wie viel Content bei Disney exklusiv verschwindet. Man kann es auch aus einer anderen Sichtweise betrachten. Diese Konkurrenz belebt das Geschäft rund um selbst produzierte hochwertige Serien und Filme in den USA erheblich. Die Konkurrenz in den USA ist auch so schon hart, und die Qualität der Serien extrem hoch. In Deutschland ist das nicht vorstellbar, bei einem zwangsfinanzierten TV-Markt, der alles erstickt, und keine Motivation hat innovativ zu sein – warum auch, wenn das Geld automatisch in die Kassen kommt. Den Qualitätsunterschied zwischen deutschen und US-Produktionen kann jeder Zuschauer ständig bewundern!

Aber zurück zu 20th Century Fox. Disney kauft den größten Teil des Unternehmens. Damit erhält Disney unter anderem die Fox-Film- und TV-Studios, Teile von Hulu und Sky, National Geographic, Star TV und regionale Sportnetzwerke. Nicht mit zu Disney gehen der Fernsehsender Fox, Fox News und Fox Business Network. Sie werden vor dem Kauf aus dem Konzern herausgelöst. Es ist glasklar: Disney tätigt diesen Kauf um mit voller Kraft gegen die neue Konkurrenz zu schießen. Wie vorhin beschrieben, kann das vor allem für die US-Konsumenten Fluch und Segen zugleich sein.

Disney auszugsweise im Wortlaut:

Benefits to Consumers

The acquisition will enable Disney to accelerate its use of innovative technologies, including its BAMTECH platform, to create more ways for its storytellers to entertain and connect directly with audiences while providing more choices for how they consume content. The complementary offerings of each company enhance Disney’s development of films, television programming and related products to provide consumers with a more enjoyable and immersive entertainment experience.

Bringing on board 21st Century Fox’s entertainment content and capabilities, along with its broad international footprint and a world-class team of managers and storytellers, will allow Disney to further its efforts to provide a more compelling entertainment experience through its direct-to-consumer (DTC) offerings. This transaction will enable Disney’s recently announced Disney and ESPN-branded DTC offerings, as well as Hulu, to create more appealing and engaging experiences, delivering content, entertainment and sports to consumers around the world wherever and however they want to enjoy it.

The agreement also provides Disney with the opportunity to reunite the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool with the Marvel family under one roof and create richer, more complex worlds of inter-related characters and stories that audiences have shown they love. The addition of Avatar to its family of films also promises expanded opportunities for consumers to watch and experience storytelling within these extraordinary fantasy worlds. Already, guests at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort can experience the magic of Pandora—The World of Avatar, a new land inspired by the Fox film franchise that opened earlier this year. And through the incredible storytelling of National Geographic—whose mission is to explore and protect our planet and inspire new generations through education initiatives and resources—Disney will be able to offer more ways than ever before to bring kids and families the world and all that is in it.

Enhancing Disney’s Worldwide Offerings

Adding 21st Century Fox’s premier international properties enhances Disney’s position as a truly global entertainment company with authentic local production and consumer services across high-growth regions, including a richer array of local, national and global sporting events that ESPN can make available to fans around the world. The transaction boosts Disney’s international revenue mix and exposure.

Disney’s international reach would greatly expand through the addition of Sky, which serves nearly 23 million households in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy; Fox Networks International, with more than 350 channels in 170 countries; and Star India, which operates 69 channels reaching 720 million viewers a month across India and more than 100 other countries.

Prior to the close of the transaction, it is anticipated that 21st Century Fox will seek to complete its planned acquisition of the 61% of Sky it doesn’t already own. Sky is one of Europe’s most successful pay television and creative enterprises with innovative and high-quality direct-to-consumer platforms, resonant brands and a strong and respected leadership team. 21st Century Fox remains fully committed to completing the current Sky offer and anticipates that, subject to the necessary regulatory consents, the transaction will close by June 30, 2018. Assuming 21st Century Fox completes its acquisition of Sky prior to closing of the transaction, The Walt Disney Company would assume full ownership of Sky, including the assumption of its outstanding debt, upon closing.

Transaction Highlights

The acquisition is expected to yield at least $2 billion in cost savings from efficiencies realized through the combination of businesses, and to be accretive to earnings before the impact of purchase accounting for the second fiscal year after the close of the transaction.

Terms of the transaction call for Disney to issue approximately 515 million new shares to 21st Century Fox shareholders, representing approximately a 25% stake in Disney on a pro forma basis. The per share consideration is subject to adjustment for certain tax liabilities arising from the spinoff and other transactions related to the acquisition. The initial exchange ratio of 0.2745 Disney shares for each 21st Century Fox share was set based on an estimate of such tax liabilities to be covered by an $8.5 billion cash dividend to 21st Century Fox from the company to be spun off. The exchange ratio will be adjusted immediately prior to closing of the acquisition based on an updated estimate of such tax liabilities. Such adjustment could increase or decrease the exchange ratio, depending upon whether the final estimate is lower or higher, respectively, than the initial estimate. However, if the final estimate of the tax liabilities is lower than the initial estimate, the first $2 billion of that adjustment will instead be made by net reduction in the amount of the cash dividend to 21st Century Fox from the company to be spun off. The amount of such tax liabilities will depend upon several factors, including tax rates in effect at the time of closing as well as the value of the company to be spun off.

The Boards of Directors of Disney and 21st Century Fox have approved the transaction, which is subject to shareholder approval by 21st Century Fox and Disney shareholders, clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, a number of other non-United States merger and other regulatory reviews, and other customary closing conditions.

Star Wars Cosplayer. Photo: Mike – Flickr: DSC_0751 (uploaded by Nicoli Maege) Wikipedia (CC BY 2.0)