President Trump Congratulated Rupert Murdoch On The Disney Deal

Earlier this week, following the announcement that Disney would be purchasing 21st Century Fox, it has been confirmed that Rupert Murdoch spoke with President Donald Trump regarding the deal.  And also spoke to one another prior to the announcement as President Trump wanted to know if Fox News was included in the deal.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Trump “thinks that — to use one of the president’s favorite words — that this could be a great thing for jobs, and certainly looks forward to — and hoping to see a lot more of those created.”

The support of the President of the United States and his relationship with Robert Murdoch is expected to give them favouritism over the deal, as Trump has previously had an issue with the AT&T-Time Warner merger, which is now being challenged by the Justice Department.  However the deal between Disney and Fox is considered a horizontal merger, while the AT&T-Time Warner merger is considered vertical.

The deal between Fox and Disney is expected to go through regulatory processes such as hearing and could take between a year and 18 months to go through.