Comcast: Hulu sale to Disney is “likely”
May 17, 2023
By Chris Forrester
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts has said it is more likely than not that it would sell its stake in OTT streaming service Hulu to Disney. Comcast has a one-third ownership stake in Hulu.
However, Roberts also stressed that Comcast felt it had a “very valuable position” in Hulu and perhaps a string hint that it would want a large cheque for its portion.
Roberts was speaking at a MoffettNathanson-organised event.
Comcast’s position is strong given that it holds a ‘put’ option which requires Disney – which owns the remaining 66 per cent of Hulu – to take over the minority stake.
Roberts said he expected Comcast shareholders to do well from a potential sale of the Hulu stake. “I’m pretty certain that when we sell our Hulu stake, it’ll be for more than what we have in it. In fact, that’s contractually certain,” Roberts stated.
Reports suggest that a valuation for Hulu with a base price of $27.5 billion (€25.3bn) was set in 2019 as part of an agreement between Comcast and Disney and a final price for the one-third stake will likely be higher.