Popular online video service Hulu was up for sale for quite some time now, but it seems that none of the final bidders were able to propose a decent bid that could satisfy the current owners of the service. As a result of that The Walt Disney Company, 21st Century Fox and NBCUniversal made it known that they are not going to sell Hulu and instead the trio said that they are making “a commitment to recapitalize Hulu with $750 million in new funding for future growth.”
As far as the final bidders for the online video service are concerned, reports suggests that DirectTV, a private equity firm KKR and AT&T in partnership with Chernin Group were part of the bid. However, all of them failed to acquire the service. AT&T, one of the final bidders, recently got hold of US-based carrier Leap Wireless by spending a hefty amount of $15 per share to make the deal but was also unsuccessful in its plans to buy Hulu.
Below is the full press release regarding the infusion of cash in Hulu, which describes the announcement in detai:
“21st Century Fox, NBCUniversal and The Walt Disney Company today jointly announced that they will maintain their respective ownership positions in Hulu and together provide a cash infusion of $750 million in order to propel future growth.
Launched in 2008, Hulu is now a leading aggregator of premium online television content from over 400 content partners, and has achieved more than 30 million monthly unique visitors.
“Hulu has emerged as one of the most consumer friendly, technologically innovative viewing platforms in the digital era. As its evolution continues, Disney and its partners are committing resources to enable Hulu to achieve its maximum potential,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company.
“We believe the best path forward for Hulu is a meaningful recapitalization that will further accelerate its growth under the current ownership structure,” said Chase Carey, President and Chief Operating Officer of 21st Century Fox. “We had meaningful conversations with a number of potential partners and buyers, each with impressive plans and offers to match, but with 21st Century Fox and Disney fully aligned in our collective vision and goals for the business, we decided to continue to empower the Hulu team, in this fashion, to continue the incredible momentum they’ve built over the last few years.”
Hulu launched its premium subscription service, Hulu Plus, in 2010, which has now surpassed four million subscribers after more than doubling in 2012. Hulu achieved record revenues of $690 million that same year.”
Source: BusinessWire, TechCrunch
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