Mexico Regulator Says Disney-Fox Deal Not Stalled by Injunction

(Bloomberg) -- An injunction granted to Televisa by a Mexican court will not delay the approval of Walt Disney Co.’s purchase of 21st Century Fox Inc.’s entertainment assets, according to a statement from Mexico’s telecom regulator.

The injunction doesn’t deal with the approval of the acquisition, but rather with the finding of an investigating authority that rejected Televisa’s argument that the merger represented an illegal concentration in the industry, according to a statement from the telecom regulator known as IFT.

Televisa argued the regulator, which oversaw the deal in Mexico, unfairly dismissed its arguments about threats to competition from the deal, a person familiar with the matter said.

According to the statement from the telecom regulator, the judge’s decision is not final, deals only with the regulator’s investigating authority and doesn’t have an impact on the approved acquisition.

The IFT said in March it approved Disney’s purchase of the Fox assets on the condition that the companies agree to sell Fox Sports channels and programming rights in Mexico. The regulator gave Disney a six-month extension to sell those assets in November.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dale Quinn in Mexico City at dquinn40@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ney Hayashi at ncruz4@bloomberg.net, Andrea Navarro

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