Fox acquired the streaming company Roku in a deal worth $22 billion to be paid in cash and FOX Class A common stock, the Fox Corporation said on Monday.
“The transaction combines FOX’s leading sports, news, and entertainment content and the Tubi service, with Roku’s leading connected TV platform, The Roku Channel, first-party data, and direct relationship with more than 100 million global streaming households,” said the statement by Fox.
The deal will value Roku at $22 billion, with the company’s stock valued at $160 per share, in a move that Fox is calling the intersection of live sports and news with the rise of streaming services.
“In 2020, we acquired Tubi, and under our stewardship, it has become one of the most successful businesses in streaming. Today, we take the next step: bringing together the most valuable live content portfolio in video consumption with the preeminent streaming platform through which America watches it,” said Lachlan K. Murdoch, CEO of Fox Corporation.
“Over the past two decades, we’ve built Roku into the leading TV streaming platform, reaching more than 100 million households globally and reshaping how people discover and enjoy entertainment,” added Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku.
The acquisition will create a new company, with Fox Corporation shareholders owning 73% and Roku shareholders the remaining 27%.
Fox, according to its statement, aims to combine its news and sports broadcasting services with Roku’s platform, which currently has 100 million users.
“This combination will transform the scope of our company into high-growth verticals and yield a step change in our overall growth profile,” said Murdoch.
And we are executing this acquisition from a position of financial strength – maintaining our investment grade balance sheet while providing our shareholders with an uninterrupted return of capital program in the form of share buybacks and dividends,” he added.
“The combination with FOX is an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate our vision, scale faster and innovate more aggressively for viewers, partners and advertisers,” said Wood.
Fox said it expects to generate approximately $400 million in run-rate cost synergies, with additional revenue upside from the deal, along with achieving several objectives in their digital strategy.
Source:
www.jpost.com
