Disney is set to buy NBCUniversal’s (NBCU) 33% stake in Hulu for at least $8.61bn, taking full ownership of the US streaming service four years after it took operational control of the business.
Recently focused on the global growth of its Disney+ and ESPN+ streaming operations, Disney said the Hulu deal “will further enhance Disney’s streaming objectives”.
The announcement of the deal and the expected price tag comes after years of speculation following the ‘put/call’ arrangement Disney and NBCU owner Comcast signed in May 2019.
That arrangement gave Comcast the right to require Disney to buy its Hulu stake and Disney the right to require Comcast to sell the stake for fair market value at some point after January 2024. Comcast has now exercised its right under the arrangement.
The $8.61bn, set to be paid by December 1, represents NBCU’s percentage of the $27.5bn guaranteed floor value for Hulu set in the 2019 deal. Hulu’s value as of September 30 this year will now be assessed and if it is higher than the guaranteed floor value Disney will pay NBCU its percentage of the difference.
Disney said it expected the appraisal to be completed during 2024.
Hulu was most recently reported to have 48.3m subscribers and Disney+ 146.1m. Hulu has been offered in the US as a bundle with Disney+ and ESPN+ since Disney+ launched in 2019.
Hulu has mostly remained a US service since its launch in 2008, while Disney+ has expanded to secure more than 100m subscribers (including Disney+ Hotstar) outside the US and Canada.
Disney joined NBCU and News Corp in the Hulu ownership consortium in 2009 and became 67% owner of the service when it bought News Corp’s 21st Century Fox in 2019.
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