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Disney Receives Chinese Approval for Purchase of Fox Assets

Disney Receives Chinese Approval for Purchase of Fox Assets

(Bloomberg) -- Walt Disney Co. said Monday it won unconditional approval from Chinese authorities for its $71 billion purchase of assets from 21st Century Fox Inc.

The ruling removes one of the last major hurdles for the deal, which unites the entertainment assets of Rupert Murdoch’s empire with Disney. The Burbank, California-based entertainment giant has already obtained approval from regulators in the U.S. and the European Union, though both required divestitures that the company has agreed to make.

There had been some concern in the investment community that China’s approval of the deal might not come easily, given the ongoing disputes over trade and tariffs between the country and the Trump administration.

Disney continues to invest heavily in China, including in theme parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Palmeri in Los Angeles at cpalmeri1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Rob Golum

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