Comcast and Disney have amended their accord to initiate the procedure of determining the future owner of Hulu in late September, according to Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast, who made the announcement on Wednesday at an investor conference. In the five years since reaching an agreement with Disney, Comcast has held 33% of Hulu, the arrangement initially set to last until January 2024. Roberts has the conviction that Hulu has exceeded the floor valuation of $27.5 billion set by the deal since then.
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts announced on Wednesday that the timeline for deciding Hulu's ownership fate has been accelerated, prompting negotiations between Comcast and Disney to begin on September 30, rather than January 2024 as was stated in the original agreement in 2019. He noted that under this agreement, Disney can require Comcast to sell the remaining 33% stake for a guaranteed minimum equity value of $27.5 billion. Roberts said that the company is more valuable than this estimated amount and that he is excited to get the process resolved. He also noted that Hulu is a great streaming business, being the second largest to Netflix, which has a market cap of $200 billion. The sale of Hulu would include not just the streaming service, but the content supplied by Disney, making it an enticing offer to potential buyers. He added that the potential synergies could be worth an additional couple billion dollars, and estimated the total value could be as much as $30 billion. Disney and Comcast will each have their own appraiser to determine the sale price, and a third appraiser could be called in if appraisals differ too greatly. Both Iger and Roberts have been asked about the future of Hulu in recent years, and Roberts had said in May that Comcast would likely sell the 33% stake to Disney. In response, Iger announced shortly after that Hulu content would be added to Disney+ in order to create a one-app experience with opportunities to attract more subscribers and advertising revenue. This platform is expected to launch by the end of the year.
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