Disney has announced it is spending $8.61 billion to acquire the remaining stake in streaming platform Hulu. As Disney already owns two-thirds, it will be purchasing a one-third stake from Comcast’s NBC Universal in order to complete its ownership of the service.
“The acquisition of Comcast’s stake in Hulu at fair market value will further Disney’s streaming objectives,” the company said at the time of announcement.
Disney CEO Bob Iger said the combining of Hulu with Disney+ is a “logical progression,” but they will remain separate entities in the short-term. Iger had said in March that Disney was studying Hulu “very, very carefully.”
Today @Disney announced plans to buy @comcast's remaining 33% stake in @hulu for an estimated $8.61 billion. This buyout will give Disney full ownership of the American subscription streaming service.
While Disney CEO @RobertIger has said the combining of the two apps is a… pic.twitter.com/xRUb96jd5y
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) November 2, 2023
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The transaction is set to occur by Dec. 1. Hulu currently has a $27.5 billion guaranteed floor value, according to the estimation that was established in 2019. The platform will face another appraisal process in the weeks leading up to Disney’s purchase, as per its agreement with comcast.
“We look forward to the appraisal process and the determination of Hulu’s fair market value which we expect will reflect the extraordinary value of the business,” Comcast said in a statement.
Comcast’s subsidiary, NBC Universal, launched its own streaming platform “Peacock” in 2020, and slowly began migrating content from Hulu to it as the years went on. Its sale of Hulu does not come at a great loss for the company content-wise.
Hulu is a plus for Disney, as it is a growing platform with over 48 million subscribers and fits well in its bundle with Disney+ and ESPN+.
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