Walt Disney has agreed to buy the bulk of 21st Century Fox's business for $52.4bn in a deal both companies said position them to compete in the rapidly changing media industry.
The purchase includes Fox's film and television studios, as well as its 39% stake in satellite broadcaster Sky.
Fox will form a news‑focused company with its remaining assets.
The move is a sharp shift for 86‑year‑old Fox owner Rupert Murdoch after more than half a century of media expansion.
Murdoch turned a single Australian newspaper he inherited from his father at the age of 21 into one of the world's largest news and film empires.
He said the break‑up makes sense amid new threats from online advertising and competitors who are streaming entertainment into homes via the internet.
Fox shareholders, which include the Murdochs, will get a 25% stake in the larger Disney.
Source: BBC
