[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] The Walt Disney Company, the U.S. media and entertainment giant, announced on June 9 (local time) that it has agreed to pay an additional $438.7 million to acquire Comcast’s remaining stake in Hulu, Disney’s streaming subsidiary.



In 2023, Disney declared its intention to acquire Comcast’s 33% stake in Hulu. Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which also owns CNBC. At that time, Disney made an initial payment of $8.6 billion, reflecting Hulu’s guaranteed minimum valuation of $27.5 billion—an agreement made between the two companies in 2019. Disney had already held a two-thirds stake in Hulu prior to this deal.



Following the initial payment, Disney entered a valuation process to determine the remaining payment. The deal was initially expected to close in 2024. However, the process took longer than expected due to differing assessments of Hulu’s value—Disney’s appraiser valued Hulu below the guaranteed floor, while NBCUniversal’s assessment was significantly higher.



Disney CEO Bob Iger stated, “This transaction allows for a more seamless integration of Hulu and Disney+ content.” As of March 29, Hulu has over 50 million subscribers, according to Disney.

 

 

 

 

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