Disney has closed a deal with Comcast to take full control of Hulu after a lengthy two-year valuation.
In 2023, Disney announced its intention to acquire Comcast’s 33% stake in Hulu, paying US$8.6 billion, which reflects Hulu’s guaranteed minimum value of $27.5 billion.
After this, the two companies entered into a valuation process, and Disney has now agreed to pay Comcast $438.7 million for their stake in the streaming service.
Disney initially took two-thirds ownership of Hulu when it acquired Fox Corp’s entertainment assets in 2019.
The final transaction is expected to close on or before 24 July and is not expected to impact Disney’s prior guidance for fiscal 2025.
“We are pleased this is finally resolved. We have had a productive partnership with NBCUniversal, and we wish them the best of luck,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement.
Disney has already begun integrating Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ apps into a bundle.
Comcast’s NBCUniversal has now begun focusing on its streaming service Peacock, which launched in 2020.
As of 29 May, Hulu had 50 million subscribers according to Disney’s most recent earnings report and Disney had a total of 180.7 million streaming subscribers, with the majority of them coming from Disney+. In comparison, Comcast reported in April that Peacock had 41 million subscribers.
