MADRID, 2 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The leisure and entertainment giant The Walt Disney Company has announced that it will buy Comcast, the largest cable television provider in the United States, its 33% stake in the streaming platform Hulu for approximately $8.61 billion (8.124 million of euros).
The operation, which will take place on December 1, will allow Disney to take over all of Hulu, as it already owns two-thirds of the platform under the agreement it signed with Comcast in 2019.
In said agreement, which valued Hulu at a minimum of 27.5 billion dollars (about 25.948 million euros at the current exchange rate), it was specified that Comcast could require Disney to take over its share of the business.
As reported by the leisure and entertainment giant in a statement, Comcast has exercised this right, so Disney will proceed to buy its missing share of Hulu that is in the hands of NBCU, owned by the Comcast group.
“The acquisition of Comcast’s stake in Hulu at fair market value will advance Disney’s streaming objectives,” the company stressed.
Under the terms of the agreement, Disney expects to pay NBCU approximately $8.61 billion (about €8.124 billion) on December 1 for its stake in Hulu, taking as a reference the $27.5 billion minimum value of the platform that was set. in the 2019 agreement.
However, in accordance with the valuation process agreed upon by Disney and Comcast, the fair value of Hulu’s equity will be evaluated as of September 30, 2023, and if the value is ultimately determined to be greater than the minimum guaranteed in the agreement, Disney will pay NBCU the difference.
The leisure and entertainment company has specified that, although the timing of the appraisal process is “uncertain”, it plans to complete the operation during 2024.
Hulu is an on-demand video subscription service, providing its users with access to live broadcasts and additional content from a wide variety of channels, including sports, entertainment and news channels. Its number of subscribers currently exceeds 48 million.
