DAZN announced the completion of its acquisition of Foxtel Group, marking a major milestone in its expansion into the Australian market.
The acquisition was first revealed British sports streaming platform DAZN would buy Foxtel Group from majority shareholder News Corp and minority shareholder Telstra for US$2.2 billion in December last year.
At the completion of the sale, a US372.6 million repayment was made to News Corp, alongside a 6% minority stake in DAZN.
News Corp chief financial officer Lavanya Chandrashekar said the sale will better enable the company to focus on its “core growth pillars”.
“It will also meaningfully strengthen our balance sheet and should reduce future capital intensity and improve return on invested capital,” Chandrashekar said.
“We expect the disposition will also be accretive to earnings per share.”
Foxtel Group will still continue to operate as a standalone business while benefiting from DAZN’S global reach, market-leading technology and investment sports entertainment innovation.
“Foxtel’s strong local presence, combined with DAZN’s global scale, technology, and content rights, will unlock incredible opportunities for sports fans, advertisers, and partners while continuing to deliver great drama, lifestyle and news content,” DAZN CEO Shay Segev said.
Foxtel, Kayo, BINGE and Hubbl will also retain their brand identities and continue making original content.
“DAZN’s ownership allows the Foxtel Group to remain an Australian-based business, with an Australian team and the sport, drama and entertainment that Australians love,” Foxtel Group CEO Patrick Delany said.
DAZN is majority-owned by Access Industries, a privately-held US industrial group founded by Len Blavatnik.
