Notes to the Unaudited RemainCo Pro Forma Financial Statements
1. Description of the Transactions
Disney Transaction / Separation and Distribution of New Fox
Pursuant to the terms of the combination merger agreement, following the distribution, a subsidiary of Disney will be merged with and into 21CF, and 21CF will continue as the surviving corporation in the 21CF merger and a wholly owned subsidiary of New Disney. Prior to the completion of the 21CF merger, 21CF and New Fox will enter into the separation agreement, pursuant to which 21CF will, among other things, engage in the separation (subject to satisfaction of the same closing conditions as the mergers), whereby it will transfer to New Fox a portfolio of 21CF’s news, sports and broadcast businesses, including the Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Sports, Fox Television Stations Group, and sports cable networks FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes and Big Ten Network, and certain other assets and liabilities associated with such businesses. 21CF will retain all assets and liabilities not transferred to New Fox, including the Twentieth Century Fox film and television studios and certain cable and international television businesses. Following the separation and prior to the completion of the 21CF merger, 21CF will distribute all of the issued and outstanding common stock of New Fox to 21CF stockholders (other than holders that are subsidiaries of 21CF) on a pro rata basis. Prior to the distribution, New Fox will pay to 21CF a dividend in the amount of $8.5 billion. New Fox will incur indebtedness sufficient to fund the dividend, which indebtedness will be reduced after the 21CF merger by the amount of the cash payment from Disney. As the separation and distribution will be taxable to 21CF at the corporate level, the dividend is intended to fund the taxes resulting from the separation and distribution and certain other transactions contemplated by the combination merger agreement, which we refer to as the transaction tax.
Upon completion of the transaction, each issued and outstanding share of 21CF common stock (other than (i) shares held in treasury by 21CF that are not held on behalf of third parties, (ii) the hook stock shares and (iii) shares held by 21CF stockholders who have not voted in favor of the 21CF merger and perfected and not withdrawn a demand for appraisal rights pursuant to the DGCL) will be exchanged for, at the election of the holder thereof and subject to automatic proration and adjustment (as described below), the 21CF cash consideration or the 21CF stock consideration. Holders of 21CF common stock who make no election may receive the 21CF cash consideration, the 21CF stock consideration or a combination of the two in exchange for their shares. The consideration to be paid to holders of shares of 21CF common stock in the 21CF merger is subject, pursuant to the terms of the combination merger agreement, to automatic proration and adjustment, as applicable, to ensure that the total amount of cash paid by New Disney in the 21CF merger is equal to the maximum cash amount. The 21CF merger consideration may be subject to an adjustment based on the final estimate of certain tax liabilities arising from the separation and the distribution and other transactions contemplated by the combination merger agreement. The 21CF merger consideration was set based on an estimate of $8.5 billion for the transaction tax, and will be adjusted immediately prior to the consummation of the transactions if the final estimate of the transaction tax at closing is more than $8.5 billion or less than $6.5 billion. Such adjustment could increase or decrease the per share value of the 21CF merger consideration, depending upon whether the final estimate is lower or higher, respectively, than $6.5 billion or $8.5 billion. Additionally, if the final estimate of the tax liabilities is lower than $8.5 billion, Disney will make a cash payment to New Fox reflecting the difference between such amount and $8.5 billion, up to a maximum cash payment of $2 billion.
Sky Disposal
On September 22, 2018, 21CF made a revised cash offer for the fully diluted share capital of Sky that the Company and its affiliates do not already own at a price of £15.67 for each Sky share, following the conclusion of the auction process conducted by the UK Panel on Takeovers and Mergers. On the same day, Comcast announced a revised cash offer by Comcast for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Sky at a price of £17.28 for each Sky share, which was recommended by the Sky Independent Committee. On September 26, 2018, 21CF announced that it intends to lapse its offer on October 6, 2018 and that it intended to either accept the Comcast Offer or to sell its Sky shares to Comcast. On October 3, 2018, 21CF entered into an agreement to sell its shares to Comcast at a price of £17.28 for each Sky share. As a result, the Company expects, upon completion of this transaction, to receive cash consideration of approximately £11.6 billion (approximately $15.3 billion) for its 39% interest in Sky.
2. Basis of Presentation
The separation and distribution will qualify as discontinued operations for 21CF, and New Fox is therefore presented in the New Fox column in accordance with the discontinued operations guidance in Accounting Standards Codification, which we refer to as ASC, 205, “Financial Statement Presentation.” In accordance with applicable SEC guidance, the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated statements of operations for the nine months ended March 31, 2018 and for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2017, June 30, 2016 and June 30, 2015 reflect the separation and distribution as discontinued operations. Upon completion of the separation and distribution, holders of 21CF class A common stock and class B common stock will receive, on a pro rata basis, all of the issued and outstanding common stock of New Fox. The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated statements of operations for the nine months ended March 31, 2018 and for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017 reflect 21CF’s results as if the Sale had occurred on July 1, 2016 and does not assume any interest income on cash proceeds. The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2018 gives effect to the transactions as if they had occurred on June 30, 2018.
7