Fox Corp is to acquire connected TV player Roku.
Fox is pay $160 per share for Roku with a combination of cash and shares, valuing Roku at $22bn. On closing Fox shareholders will own about 73% of the merged business, with Roku shareholders taking the other 27%.
The deal will combine Fox’s sports, news and entertainment content and its leading AVOD service Tubi with Roku, which has more than 100 million streaming households worldwide and also runs rival AVOD service The Roku Channel.
Roku was one of the first companies to bring streaming platforms such as Netflix and YouTube to television through connected devices and smart TVs. Its business is largely driven by advertising and subscription revenue from streaming apps on its platform.
In a statement, Fox and Roku said they “will create a scaled next-generation media and technology company positioned at the intersection of two of the most important forces reshaping video consumption: the enduring primacy of live sports and news, and the continued rise of streaming.”
They said they would continue to operate Roku as an open, partner-friendly platform, while also distributing Fox content.
Lachlan K. Murdoch, executive chair and CEO of Fox, said: “In 2019, we reoriented the company around live news and sports. In 2020, we acquired Tubi and under our stewardship it has become one of the most successful businesses in streaming. Today, we take the next step: bringing together the most valuable live content portfolio in video consumption with the preeminent streaming platform through which America watches it.”
Anthony Wood, founder, chairman and CEO of Roku, said:”The combination with Fox is an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate our vision, scale faster and innovate more aggressively for viewers, partners and advertisers.”
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