New Fox Starts Trading, Adds Paul Ryan To Board; Disney Deal Effective Wednesday

The new Fox Corp. FOXA began trading Tuesday after its spinoff from 21st Century Fox and named new directors for the company, including former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

The new Fox includes the old company’s TV assets, including Fox News, Fox Sports and its television stations.

Twenty-First Century Fox is selling its other assets, including its iconic movie and TV divisions, to Walt Disney Co DIS, a $71.3-billion sale that will become effective shortly after midnight Wednesday. 

The sale of the movie and TV divisions in one of the largest Hollywood company deals in history gives Disney the rights to franchises that include X-Men, Deadpool and a back catalog of hits including the original "Star Wars" movies and "Avatar," as well as TV’s "The X-Files."

Disney’s purchase of 21st Century Fox will become official at midnight. https://t.co/CUrrEJOKbW

— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) March 19, 2019

Shares in the new Fox Corp. were down on its first day of trading, dropping 4.08 percent to $40 at time of publication. Shares in Disney were also down, off 0.93 percent at $112.07. 

Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of the new Fox, said that in addition to Ryan — who left office in January — the new company's board will include Anne Dias, CEO of Aragon Global Holdings; Formula 1 CEO and former DIRECTV head Chase Carey; and former Telemundo Chairman Roland Hernandez. They'll join Lachlan Murdoch on the board along with previously announced board members Rupert Murdoch and Jacques Nasser. 

Related Links:

The Mouse And Murdoch's House: Morgan Stanley Bullish On Post-Deal Landscape For Fox, Disney

The Disney-Fox Deal: With Great Power Comes Great Regulatory Risk