Disney, Fox deal moves forward

In separate ballrooms at the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan on Friday morning, shareholders of the Walt Disney Co. and 21st Century Fox agreed to a $71.3 billion purchase plan that gives Disney the bulk of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, substantially altering the entertainment landscape. Regulators in more than a dozen countries must still give their approval. But the shareholder votes brought to a close a six-month corporate showdown, waged across two continents by Disney and Comcast, for supremacy in the rapidly changing media business.

Twitter user drop lowers stocks

Twitter reported a decline in monthly active users Friday, another sign of trouble for the social network as it has struggled in recent months. The company, which had appeared to be undergoing a surprising resurgence, said it generated $711 million in revenue in its most recent quarter. That was 2 percent above the expectations of analysts and about 24 percent more than the same period a year ago. But those figures were overshadowed by Twitter’s announcement that its monthly active users had fallen to 335 million.

The results drove Twitter’s stock down 12 percent in premarket trading.

CBS exec accused by 6 women

Leslie Moonves, the chief executive of the CBS Corp. and one of the most powerful people in the media business, is facing an investigation after a report published Friday revealed allegations of sexual harassment made against him by six women.

The CBS board of directors said that it would investigate any allegations of misconduct, and that the claims, detailed in an article in The New Yorker, would “be taken seriously.” A CBS statement said, “Upon the conclusion of that investigation, which involves recently reported allegations that go back several decades, the board will promptly review the findings and take appropriate action.”