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An acquisition of Time Warner by The Walt Disney Company took place on March 20, 2019. Among other key assets, the acquisition included the Warner Bros. film and TV studios, Home Box Office, Inc., Turner Broadcasting System (including CNN, TNT, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, etc.), a 30% stake in Fandango Media, and a 10% stake in Hulu.

Comcast (parent company of NBCUniversal) made its own offer on June 13, 2018, a $65 billion all-cash proposal to acquire the Warner Bros. assets that Disney was set to purchase. This touched off a major bidding war between the two companies. A week later, Disney counterbid with a $71.3 billion offer. Comcast officially dropped its bid on July 19.

Early information
On November 6, 2017, CNBC reported The Walt Disney Company was negotiating a deal with Jeff Bewkes to acquire Time Warner's filmed entertainment, cable entertainment, and direct broadcast satellite divisions, including Warner Bros. Entertainment, Home Box Office, Inc., Turner Broadcasting System and Fandango Media. The deal would reportedly exclude The CW and Castle Rock Entertainment, which would be sold to National Amusements' CBS Corporation and Viacom.

The deal would also include film rights to certain franchises owned by Time Warner, such as Looney Tunes and DC Comics. Talks had stalled for the day without a deal being finalized, but it was reported on November 10 that the prospected deal had yet to be fully abandoned.

On November 16, it was reported that Comcast (parent company of NBCUniversal), Verizon Communications, and Sony had also joined Disney in a bidding war for Time Warner. During a recent shareholders meeting, Warner Bros. Chairman Kevin Tsujihara said Time Warner was not a "sub-scale" company "finding it difficult to leverage their positions in new and emerging video platforms", but had "the required scale to continue to both execute on our aggressive growth strategy and deliver significant increased returns to shareholders".

Because Walt Disney owns the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and Time warner owns the Fox Broadcasting Company, a full acquisition of The CW by Disney would be illegal under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s rules prohibiting a merger between any of two of the four major broadcast networks.

On November 28, while mentioning a rumor that the rumored negotiations between Disney and Time Warner were progressing at a rapid pace, Mike Fleming Jr. of Deadline Hollywood commented, "given how Disney made the Marvel and Lucasfilm deals under the cone of silence, if this happens we'll probably only know it when it's announced. It is certainly being talked about today."

On December 11, Comcast announced it was dropping its bid on the Time Warner assets. On December 14, Disney and Time Warner confirmed a $52.4 billion deal to merge the two companies, pending approval from the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division.

In February, CNBC reported that, despite the Disney–Time Warner deal, Comcast might take action to outbid Disney's $52.4 billion offer, once the AT&T–21st Century Fox merger went through. Despite this, Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara stated he was content with the Disney offer and that the Time Warner assets were "a great fit for Disney."

Early in March, the non-profit group Protect Democracy Project Inc. filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Justice on the hopes to seek any records of communications between the two groups over Disney's pending acquisition of Time Warner. The lawsuit also sought "any related antitrust enforcement efforts by the DOJ, to find out whether the president or his administration is improperly interfering with the independence of the DOJ out of favoritism for a political ally." Donald Trump congratulated Bewkes for the Disney–Time Warner deal while attacking AT&T's acquisition of 21st Century Fox, particularly over the ownership of Fox News, which he frequently criticized due to alleged bias.

On April 12, 2018, Tsujihara revealed the acquisition was expected to close by summer 2019. Beginning in March 2018, a strategic reorganization of the Disney conglomerate saw the creation of two business segments, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products and Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International. Parks & Consumer Products was primarily a merger of Parks & Resorts and Consumer Products & Interactive Media. While Direct-to-Consumer & International took over for Disney International and global sales, distribution and streaming units from Disney-ABC TV Group and Studios Entertainment plus Disney Digital Network. Given that CEO Iger described it as “strategically positioning our businesses for the future”, the New York Times considered the reorganization done in expectation of the Time Warner purchase.

Bidding war with Comcast
On May 7, 2018, it was reported that Comcast spoke to investment banks about topping Disney's offer to acquire Time Warner.

The following week, Comcast publicly announced it was looking into making an all-cash counter-offer for the Time Warner assets that Disney proposed to acquire. Shortly after, it was reported that Disney was looking into making its own all-cash counter-offer for Time Warner assets if Comcast went through with their offer.

The next day, Disney and Time Warner announced they had set their shareholder vote meetings for July 10, although both said Time warner's meeting could be postponed if Comcast came through with their offer.

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

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 Time Warner assets.

On June 20, Disney and Time Warner announced 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, Bewkes said in response to Disney's higher offer: "We are extremely proud of the businesses we have built at Time Warner, 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 28, Disney and Time Warner boards scheduled July 27, 2018 as the day shareholders vote on Time Warner's properties being sold to Disney.

On July 9, a Time Warner shareholder filed a lawsuit to stop the acquisition from Disney citing the absence of financial projections for Hulu.

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 21st Century Fox. Analysts said the chances of the DOJ win are small, but would be the "final nail in the coffin for Comcast's Time Warner 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 Time Warner: "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. Time Warner shareholders were recommended by the advisers as means to provide for Disney's future.

Three days after, CNBC reported Comcast was unlikely to continue its bidding war with Disney to acquire Time Warner.

Road to completion
On July 25, 2018, TCI Fund Management, the second largest shareholder of Time Warner, indicated it voted to approve the Disney–Time Warner deal. On July 27, Disney and Time Warner shareholders approved the merger between the two companies.

There were reports on August 9 that Viacom CEO Robert Bakish wants to license its TV ad targeting tech to the entire industry, starting with Time Warner. On August 12, the Competition Commission of India approved the Disney–Time Warner deal.

On September 17, the European Commission scheduled a merger review for October 19, which was later postponed to November 6.

On October 5, Disney announced the commencement of exchange offers and consent solicitations for Time Warner.

On October 15, Disney offered a list of concessions to the European Commission, which extended the review deadline to November 6. The European Commission on November 6, 2018 cleared the sale, pursuant to the divestment of certain factual television networks in Europe owned by the Disney/Hearst joint venture A&E Networks, including Blaze, Crime & Investigation, History, H2, and Lifetime. Disney will continue to be a 50 percent owner of A&E everywhere outside of the European Economic Area.

On October 18, Disney announced a new organizational structure for The Walt Disney Studios and the individual unit heads who would join the company.

On November 19, China's regulators approved the Disney–Time Warner deal, without any conditions. After obtaining approval from Chinese regulators, Disney said it still needed to obtain regulatory approval from several other regulators, though the approvals from the United States, European Union, and China were considered the most important hurdles to clear.

On December 3, Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) said the deal would concentrate the market of cable sports channels. CADE recommended remedial measures.

On December 13, Disney announced a new organizational structure for its international operations and the individuals who would join the company.

By December 14, the merger was subjected to regulation in Mexico, where Disney/Time Warner would account for 27.8% of content distribution across all genres. Disney would own 73% of all sports channels in Mexico.

On January 11, it was reported that the deal is expected to close by either February or March 2019. However, on January 30, in a SEC filing by Disney, it was reported that the deal is expected to close by June 2019.

On January 31, Mexico's Federal Commission of Economic Competition (COFECE) approved the Disney–Time Warner deal after Disney agreed to sell its stake in Walt Disney Studios Sony Pictures Releasing de México, a Mexican film distributor, to Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group.

On February 5, during Disney's Q1 2019 earnings call, Bob Iger confirmed that Disney was still waiting on approval from the "last few remaining markets" to approve the Disney–Time Warner deal.

On March 4, The Walt Disney Company tweaked Robert Iger’s compensation package he would receive upon closing the Disney–Time Warner deal, removing $13.5 million in potential salary and incentive awards available for the chief executive after the company closes its acquisition of Time Warner assets.

On March 5, Disney announced Craig Hunegs would lead the combined TV operations at Disney Television Studios once the Disney–Time Warner deal closes. Hunegs will be president of the division, with oversight of all operations, including ABC Studios, ABC Signature and Warner Bros. Television. He'll report to Peter Roth, currently president/CCO of Warner Bros. Television Group who will be chairman of Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment.

On March 7, Bob Iger stated at an annual meeting that the Disney–Time Warner deal would be ready to close 'soon', and that following the acquisition, Warner Bros. would still keep its name alongside its subsidiaries.

On March 12, Disney announced it was set to close the Time Warner deal on March 20.

On March 19, Time Warner officially completed distribution of shares ahead of the completion of the Disney deal on March 20.

On March 20, the deal was officially completed.

Post-acquisition
On March 21, Disney announced that it would dissolve Turner Broadcasting System, by moving all it's TV channels into Disney Channels Worldwide.

Antitrust concerns regarding the deal
Despite Disney passing antitrust approval from regulators in every country, critics of Disney's purchase expressed concern of a significant amount of antitrust concerns. The deal is a horizontal merger (i.e., in which a company buys up a corporation that produces the same goods and products) as opposed to a vertical merger (i.e., two companies that operate at separate stages of the production process for a specific finished product), much akin to the integrations of AT&T–21st Century Fox and Comcast–NBC Universal. As such, horizontal mergers are more disapproved than vertical mergers, as they affect a more tangible reduction in competition. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) states on its website that "The greatest antitrust concern arises with proposed mergers between direct competitors (horizontal mergers)."

As both Disney and Time Warner produce films and television series, the deal would reduce the number of major film studios in Hollywood from six to five. Some argued the operation would still leave many competitors around since Disney may compete with Netflix in the online streaming market with Disney+ in equal conditions with its newly acquired properties. Opponents countered that these arguments do not hold much weight due to Disney's powerful box office and stock market shares, its practices, and its purchase of Time Warner's many assets.

News media
Many journalists expressed concerns about Disney's purchase of Time Warner and its effects on the industry in the long run. A film reporter said, "They'll have more control over more things, so if they decide they don't like what you wrote and want to ban you from their screenings, eventually that will mean all of entertainment. For journalists and reporters trying to do their job, it is frightening to see the scope of one company expand in that way and know that your fate is kind of tied up with them." "We've seen a pattern in Disney's behavior. The more power they have, the more they wield it," one entertainment reporter said. A freelance critic and member of the New York Film Critics Circle said that most journalists were troubled by the idea of the Disney–Time Warner deal:

As an example, on November 3, 2017, Disney banned the Los Angeles Times from attending press screenings of its films in retaliation for the paper's coverage of their political influence in Anaheim, California in September of that year. On November 7, however, Disney reversed its decision, after receiving massive protests and condemnation from a number of major publications and writers including The New York Times, The Boston Globe critic Ty Burr, The Washington Post blogger Alyssa Rosenberg, A Wrinkle in Time director Ava DuVernay, the websites The A.V. Club and Flavorwire, and film critic organizations which threatened to disqualify Disney films from their year-end awards in retaliation, specifically, the National Society of Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle, and Boston Society of Film Critics. Jason Bailey, the editor of Flavorwire, thought the way Disney treated the Los Angeles Times was "absolutely chilling", fearing it would only grow more common after the merger:

The idea of a major, multinational conglomerate being that petty and vindictive and really engaging in an act of retribution against an outlet, and against reporters who had nothing to do with the thing that they were angry about, gave some insight into the length they were willing to go against anyone who didn't toe the Disney company line. It's very worrisome, and is more worrisome if they're in control of this much more of the entertainment industry.

One film writer stated that "I personally worry that a studio this big will need the press less and less. I don't think anything drastic will change immediately, but I think it is more important than ever for entertainment reporters to uphold journalistic values. We are not their PR arms, no matter how much they'd like us to be." Another film reporter said, "As a critic, I've had Disney tell me they don't want to invite me to [its] film because I didn't like the last one. It really scares me to watch them get even more power."

Theaters
Unlike most studios, Disney has a reputation for lofty terms and strict conditions being imposed upon theater owners on its films, such as Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. For the latter, Disney demanded a 65% cut of domestic ticket sales (rather than the minimum 55% to 60% cut) along with a four-week hold in each venue and face a 5% penalty to any theater owner who breaks any part of the contract, including taking the film offscreen. If the Disney–Time Warner deal had happened in late 2016, Disney's domestic box office in 2017 would have equaled $4.5 billion or 40% market share, a figure no major studio has ever hit. For many, the deal would give Disney the unprecedented market power to be abusive without end.

One distribution studio executive denounced the deal, saying that "If I was an independent mom-and-pop theater, I would just close down; there's no way to survive. With a 40% market share, how do you negotiate against that?" John Roper, the general manager of the Phoenix Theatre in Fort Nelson, British Columbia, said that Disney/Time Warner had him worried about even stricter rules in the future, stating, "It's not good for any type of industry when a company grows that large. Disney holds all the cards, and we have to play by their rules. Smaller cinemas are just left in the dust." Roper decided not to screen Star Wars: The Last Jedi because of Disney's strict conditions of requiring the theater to run the film four weeks straight and play it four times a day (as opposed to other studios, who only require a minimum of two weeks for a film run and play it one time a day). Elkader Cinema in Elkader, Iowa, opted out the movie for the same reason, with owner Lee Akin stating that "I can't get the entire town in my auditorium in one week's time let alone four."

In Brazil, Disney demanded a 52% cut of Coco's domestic ticket sales (rather than the historical 50% cut) and some theaters (with exceptions including foreign chains, such as Cinemark Theatres and Cinépolis) boycotted the film. Coco was shown in 618 screens, against 919 screens that showed Sony Pictures' Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.

Other commentators have noted that Disney is a big proponent of longer theatrical windows and could provide a bulwark for traditional theaters against the streaming services. One local theater owner stated that "I would welcome some larger players to compete against the streaming services which I think are the real companies to watch out for in the future".

Pay television industry
Dish Network CEO Erik Carlson said blockbuster mergers like the Disney–Time Warner deal could severely limit the number of content companies providing to their customers. Carlson said on CNBC's Squawk on the Street that "We really take the position that we think about the customer and the customer first."

Entertainment industry
The Writers Guild of America West, the union that represents writers of films, television, and other media, wrote that:

In the relentless drive to eliminate competition, big business has an insatiable appetite for consolidation. Disney and Time Warner have spent decades profiting from the oligopolistic control that the six major media conglomerates have exercised over the entertainment industry, often at the expense of the creators who power their television and film operations. Now, this proposed merger of direct competitors will make matters even worse by substantially increasing the market power of a combined Disney-Time Warner corporation. The antitrust concerns raised by this deal are obvious and significant. The Writers Guild of America West strongly opposes this merger and will work to ensure our nation's antitrust laws are enforced.

Tom Rothman, chairman of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, said the Disney–Time Warner deal was a dangerous proposition: "Consolidation under giant corporate mandates rarely promotes creative risk-taking. And in the long run, it is always a challenge to compete against horizontal monopolistic power."

Zack Snyder, director of Watchmen, expressed concerns that the deal might lead to the approval of a similar film that may have more limited appeal than a conventional DC blockbuster, thereby limiting the opportunities for certain filmmakers as well as the consumers. Mangold said that "If they're actually changing their mandate, if what they're supposed to do alters, that would be sad to me because it just means less movies."

Writer Marc Guggenheim, known for his work for the Arrowverse for The CW, said that "As a writer, I'm not a big fan of these big corporate consolidations. I don't think they're necessarily good for writers, directors, producers, and actors. I also, as an American, don't love these big corporate mergers. I don't think they're necessarily good for the country."

The potential acquisition of Time Warner by Disney caused concern within the entertainment industry that smaller media companies, including Viacom, CBS Corporation, Lionsgate, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, would need to consolidate or be sold in order to remain competitive.

Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations expressed hope that the merger would force creativity in other studios like Paramount, which might focus on smaller-budget films knowing that it could not compete with Walt Disney (after the Time Warner acquisition) in making big-budget blockbusters.

Viacom CEO Bob Bakish has stated that the Disney–Time Warner deal provides a "very real opportunity" to hire new executive and creative talent at Paramount and other studios amid the "dislocation associated with change of ownership" at Disney and Warner Bros. Bakish also suggested that Viacom and other companies can provide new content for streaming services such as Netflix once Disney removes their content from the service in 2019.

Political reaction
President Donald Trump praised both companies for the merger, believing it is best for American jobs. However, not all politicians are pleased with the decision. U.S. Rep. David Cicilline from Rhode Island's 1st congressional district, the ranking Democrat on the House Antitrust Subcommittee, expressed concerns over the transaction. He said in a statement that "Disney's proposed purchase of Time Warner threatens to put control of even more television, movie, and news content into the hands of a single media giant. If it's approved, this acquisition could allow Disney to limit what consumers can watch and increase their cable bills."

Other comments
Richard Greenfield, the BTIG Research analyst, wrote that the combined Disney and Warner Bros. assets would have a 42% theatrical market share:

Disney is already using its box office muscle to bully movie domestic exhibitors, extracting financial terms far beyond their studio peers... Adding Warner Bros, which controls the Harry Potter and Lego Movie franchises, would enable Disney to gain unprecedented market power.

John Simpson of the activist group Consumer Watchdog said that the deal "would give far too much monopolistic power to Disney, which is known for cutthroat, hardball tactics", and "can only mean higher prices and less choice for consumers."

Barton Crockett, a media analyst at B. Riley FBR, said that "Disney is becoming the Wal-Mart of Hollywood: huge and dominant. That's going to have a big influence up and down the supply chain."

Ian Bezek, contributor to InvestorPlace, questioned the underlying rationale for the merger, asking why Disney needed to acquire Warner Bros' film production and cable network business for such a "high price", given Disney's already healthy positions in both businesses:

Put another way, Disney is paying $66 billion, including the assumption of $13 billion in debt, to add more cable channels and film production to its already powerful place in both areas.

Given the problems at ESPN, some would say this is doubling down on a struggling division. In any case, this deal significantly weakens the argument that Disney is a diversified powerhouse, as it will rely much more on just a couple revenue streams for the majority of its profits post-deal.

Jonathan Barnett, law professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law states that when considering streaming services under the same markets as theaters, worries about Disney's control "would be substantially diminished".

Acquired by Disney
Disney acquired the majority of Time Warner's entertainment assets. These include:


 * Warner Bros. Entertainment (including a lease on its studio lot in Burbank, Leavesden and it's studio tours)
 * Warner Bros. Pictures
 * Warner Animation Group
 * DC Entertainment
 * DC Films
 * New Line Cinema
 * Turner Entertainment Co.
 * WaterTower Music
 * Flagship Entertainment (China) (49%) (joint venture with China Media Capital (41%) and TVB (10%))
 * HOOQ (streaming service joint venture with Sony Pictures Entertainment and Singtel; available in Singapore, the Philippines, India, Indonesia and Thailand)
 * Warner Bros. Television Group
 * Warner Bros. Television
 * Warner Horizon Television
 * Warner Bros. Television Distribution
 * Warner Bros. International Television Production
 * Blue Ribbon Content
 * Telepictures
 * Momlogic
 * Warner Bros. Animation
 * Hanna-Barbera Cartoons
 * Fandango Media (30% with NBCUniversal)
 * Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group
 * Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
 * Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
 * Home Box Office, Inc.
 * HBO
 * Cinemax
 * HBO Go
 * HBO Now
 * HBO Home Entertainment
 * HBO International
 * Turner Broadcasting System
 * Turner Broadcasting International
 * Turner Entertainment Networks
 * truTV
 * TBS
 * TNT
 * CNN News Group
 * CNN
 * HLN
 * Cartoon Network
 * Cartoon Network Productions
 * Cartoon Network Studios
 * Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe
 * Adult Swim
 * Boomerang
 * Williams Street
 * Hulu (United States) (10%)

To be divested
Assets that were initially a part of the acquisition of Time Warnerc assets by Disney, but have since been planned to be sold off to third parties.
 * Castle Rock Entertainment – Will be sold to Paramount Pictures.
 * The CW (50%) - Will be sold back to CBS Corporation, due to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s rules prohibiting a merger between any of two of the four major broadcast networks.
 * A&E Networks Europe (50%) – On November 6, 2018, the European Commission ruled that Disney must sell the European factual channels of A&E, including History, H2, Crime & Investigation, Blaze and Lifetime. Hearst Communications, which owns the second half of A&E, has entered talks to acquire Disney's share in these networks.
 * Walt Disney Studios Sony Pictures Releasing de México – On January 31, 2019, Disney agreed to sell its stake in the Mexican film distribution joint venture to Sony Pictures Releasing.