Hulu sale cancelled
October 14, 2011
By Colin Mann
The planned sale of online video website Hulu has fallen through after months of negotiations between the service’s owners and potential buyers.
Hulu’s owners, which include Disney, News Corp, NBC Universal and Providence Equity, revealed they had decided against a sale of the video service. “Since Hulu holds a unique and compelling strategic value to each of its owners, we have terminated the sale process and look forward to working together to continue mapping out its path to even greater success. Our focus now rests solely on ensuring that our efforts as owners contribute in a meaningful way to the exciting future that lies ahead for Hulu,” said the owners in a joint statement.
The aborted sale marks the second time Hulu’s owners had attempted a full or partial exit strategy. After nearly six months of planning, an Initial Public Offering that might have raised up to $300 million was canned in December 2010.
Bids were reported to have ranged from as low as $500 million to as much as $2 billion, with potential purchasers including Yahoo!, Google, Amazon, DirecTV and DISH .