Walt Disney Co. and 21st Century Fox shareholders approved a $71 billion merger between the two companies on Friday after the Department of Justice opened a path for the transaction to proceed.
Comcast, which was in a bidding war with Disney for Fox, ended its pursuit of the company after Justice chose to appeal a federal judge’s decision to approve a separate merger between AT&T and Time Warner.
Should the transaction close, Disney would gain control of key Fox assets like movie studio 20th Century Fox. While antitrust regulators approved the merger contingent on Disney selling its regional sports networks, some experts have questioned whether the deal should have received more scrutiny.
