The Walt Disney Company's announcement on Thursday that is has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion gives Disney access to the Marvel characters X-Men and Fantastic Four and also adds Avatar and National Geographic to its collection of assets.
Under the terms of the deal, pending government antitrust approval, Disney would assume ownership of 21st Century Fox's film production businesses, including Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox 2000; its television units, which produce The Simpsons among other series; and National Geographic, in addition to several other Fox properties.
Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company (left), standing with Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of 21st Century Fox.
Additionally, in light of the announcement, Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger has agreed to remain in his role through the end of 2021.
Disney noted that there are numerous ways in which consumers might eventually see and experience the newly acquired Fox names in the Disney universe once the deal is done.
"The agreement 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," Disney said in a release.
Disney purchased Marvel Entertainment in 2009 for $4 billion, gaining access to Marvel's portfolio of more than 5,000 characters, including iconic action heroes such as Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Hulk and Captain America. Now it will have three more Marvel franchises to round out the collection.
Disney noted that the addition of Avatar to its family of films offers expanded opportunities for consumers to experience Avatar storytelling. The company added that visitors to Disney's Animal Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida can already experience the recently opened Pandora -- The World of Avatar, which was inspired by the Fox film franchise.
Disney also plans to integrate the resources that will be made available to the company through the National Geographic brand.
"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," the company said in a release.