Twenty-First Century Fox Sale On The Table After Company Shares Rise

News that Twentieth Century Fox was potentially looking at selling most of their entertainment division to Disney shocked the internet earlier this week, as this would open the door for a cinematic crossover between Marvel’s biggest brands – the Avengers, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. While some have said that the talks died out, a recent report suggests otherwise, thanks in part to Fox getting a huge boost from its shareholders.

CNBC just released a follow-up report on Tuesday’s story with additional reporting from their correspondent David Faber. Faber stated that, while some other outlets are less optimistic about the possibility of a sale happening, what he’s hearing indicates that discussions are ongoing:

“Pencils aren’t down; it does appear at the very least that they have not abandoned the idea of that combination.”

As it currently stands, the rumors of a sale have made Fox and Disney shareholders alike happy — as of Friday alone, the Twenty-First Century division of Fox has seen an increase of 4% to their stock’s value since the rumors first got out, and Disney has seen a more modest increase of 2.9%. Overall, since the state of the week shares of Fox proper have been boosted by 18%, and Disney’s by 7%. Money talks, and it seems as though it’s in the best interests of both companies to keep discussing a deal.

Rumors of partnership between Disney and a rival studio have been beneficial in the past, as talks that Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures were discussing a Spider-Man and Marvel Cinematic Universe crossover helped boost momentum toward integrating the Spider-Man franchise into the greater setting, leading to the character’s acclaimed appearance in Captain America: Civil War and a reboot to his standalone series that fought off the curse of diminishing returns. Something similar happening to the Fantastic Four brand would be a real shot in the arm for the property, so here’s hoping that the two companies will be able to work something out.

Source: CNBC