20th Century Fox

20th Century Fox Film Corporation (or simply 20th Century Fox) is an American movie studio. Fox was the distributor behind all four Diary of a Wimpy Kid films and for the Wimpy Kid films they made an outlined cartoonish logo.

History
The company was founded on May 31, 1935, as the result of the merger of Fox Film Corporation, founded by William Fox in 1915, and Twentieth Century Pictures, founded in 1933 by Darryl F. Zanuck, Joseph Schenck, Raymond Griffith and William Goetz.

20th Century Fox is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

Potential takeover
On December 14, 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced that it is acquiring most of Fox's parent company, 21st Century Fox, including the film studio.

On May 7, 2018, shares of Fox rose 5.1% when a report was released that Comcast was in talks with investment banks and firms in order to obtain bridge-financing for an all-cash bid, reportedly worth $60 billion, that threatened the Disney-Fox deal.

On May 29, it was reported that Disney was looking into making its own all-cash counter-offer for Fox assets in the event that Comcast went through with their offer. The next day, Disney and Fox announced that they have set their shareholder vote meetings for July 10, though both companies have stated that Fox's meeting could be postponed if Comcast came through with their offer.

On June 12, AT&amp;T was given approval by District Judge Richard J. Leon to acquire Time Warner, easing concerns Comcast had regarding whether government regulators would block their bid for Fox. Consequently, the next day, Comcast mounted a bid of $65 billion for the 21st Century Fox assets that were set to be acquired by Disney.

On June 14, Bloomberg News reported that the New York Yankees were seeking to invoke a clause in Fox's purchase of stakes in YES Network, allowing them to buy back Fox's stake in the event of a change in ownership (and thus prevent it from being included in the sale).

On June 18, it was reported that Disney will add to its already existing $52 billion claim to contest Comcast's proposed counter-offer for the Fox assets.

On June 19, it was reported that Disney has agreed to acquire Sky News from Sky itself.

On June 20, Disney and Fox announced that they had amended their previous merger agreement, upping Disney’s offer to $71.3 billion (a 10% premium over Comcast's $65 billion offer), while also offering shareholders the option of receiving cash instead of stock.

On June 21, Murdoch said in response to Disney's higher offer: "We are extremely proud of the businesses we have built at 21st Century Fox, and firmly believe that this combination with Disney will unlock even more value for shareholders as the new Disney continues to set the pace at a dynamic time for our industry." That still does not prevent other companies from making a bid, as the deal was needed to be voted on by shareholders. Iger explained the reasoning behind the bid: "Direct-to-consumer distribution has actually become an even more compelling proposition in the six months since we announced the deal. There has just been not only a tremendous amount of development in that space, but clearly the consumer is voting—loudly."

On June 27, the United States Department of Justice gave antitrust approval to Disney under the condition of selling Fox's 22 regional sports channels, to which the company has agreed to.

On July 11, 21st Century Fox raised its bid to purchase Sky's assets to $32.5 billion, and $18.57 a share. In response, Comcast increased its bid to $34 billion, and $19.5 a share. At the same time, Fox was given clearance by the British government to purchase Sky. The bidding war for Sky led to some analysts speculating that Comcast could give up bidding for 21st Century Fox in favor of a smaller battle.

On July 12, the Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal with the D.C. Circuit to reverse the District Court's approval for AT&T acquisition of Time Warner (now WarnerMedia). Although analysts say that the chances of the DOJ win are small, they say it is the "final nail in the coffin for Comcast's Fox chase. This is a clear gift to Disney." On the next day, CEO of AT&T Randall Stephenson gave an interview with CNBC, about Comcast's bid for Fox: "It probably can't help it. You're in a situation where two entities are bidding for an asset, and this kind of action can obviously influence the outcome of those actions."

On July 13, Disney received the support of the Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, the two most prominent proxy adviser firms in the world. Fox shareholders were recommended by the advisers as means to provide for Disney's future. Also on that same day, British regulators have decided that if Disney purchases Fox's assets before Sky's purchase from either Fox or Comcast, it will be forced to launch a bid for the full ownership of Sky, at a minimum of $18.6 a share.

On July 16, CNBC reported that Comcast is unlikely to continue its bidding war to acquire Fox from Disney in favor of Sky.

On July 18, Bloomberg reported that the Sky board also scheduled July 27, 2018 as the day shareholders vote on selling Sky properties.

On July 19, Comcast officially announced that it was dropping its bid on the Fox assets in order to focus on their bid for Sky. The CEO of Comcast, Brian L. Roberts, said "I'd like to congratulate Bob Iger and the team at Disney and commend the Murdoch family and Fox for creating such a desirable and respected company."

On July 25, TCI Fund Management, the second largest shareholder of 21st Century Fox, voted to approve the Fox-Disney deal.

On July 27, Disney and Fox shareholders approved Disney's purchase of Fox's entertainment assets. The acquisition's completions should be in the first half of 2019. On the same day, Bloomberg News reported that out of all 15 nations yet to approve the deal, China could become the biggest threat to the merger since the trade war with USA resulted in the merger between Qualcomm and NXP not being realized.

On August 7, it was reported that 21st Century Fox has until September 22 to come up with a new bid for Sky plc. On August 9, it was reported that Viacom CEO Robert Bakish wants to license its TV ad targeting tech to the entire industry, starting with Fox.

On August 12, the Competition Commission of India approved the Disney-Fox deal.

On August 28, 2018, it was reported that the New York Yankees are planning to buy back the YES Network in the sale of Fox to Disney.

In August, Disney and Fox hired a lobbyist firm in Georgeson & Co. to evaluate what Sky shareholders want from their next bid. This is expected to be their last bid submitted before September 21 which is the deadline set by the UK Takeover Panel before entering into the "final auction" over the following week. The new owner of Sky is set to be determined by close of business on September 28.

On September 17, the European Commission announced plans of deciding what to do with the Disney-Fox deal by October 19.

On September 20, all companies (Disney, Fox, Comcast and Sky) all agreed to a one-day auction process to decide the winner of Sky with the UK Takeover Panel. This auction will have a maximum of three bidding rounds in the following format:


 * Round 1 - Disney and Fox can bid more for Sky (they do not have to proceed further).


 * Round 2 - Comcast can bid more for Sky (they do not have to proceed further).


 * Round 3 - Disney and Fox and Comcast separately write down their final bid and the Panel declare the highest offer and thus winner for Sky.

The auction process will begin on 5PM BST on September 21 and conclude in the evening of September 22 with the winner being declared by the Panel at 7AM on September 23.