Disney to Acquire Remaining Stake in Hulu for $8.61 Billion

The Walt Disney Company announced plans to acquire the 33 percent stake in Hulu currently owned by NBC Universal for $8.61 billion. This purchase will give Disney full ownership of the service.

“Under the terms of the put/call arrangement, by December 1, Disney expects it will pay NBCU approximately $8.61 billion, representing NBCU’s percentage of the $27.5 billion guaranteed floor value for Hulu that was set when the companies entered into their agreement in 2019 minus the anticipated outstanding capital call contributions payable by NBCU to Disney,” the company announced. “While the timing of the appraisal process is uncertain, we anticipate it should be completed during the 2024 calendar year.”

Disney has been working toward full ownership of Hulu for years: It assumed control of two-thirds of Hulu when it acquired Fox’s entertainment assets in 2019 for $71 billion. Disney notes that it may pay more than $8.61 billion for the remaining third should Hulu’s equity value as of September 30 be appraised more highly.

Disney will announce its quarterly and annual earnings in one week, but at the time of its previous earnings report this past August, Hulu had 48.3 million paid subscribers, compared to 105.7 million for Disney+ and 25.2 million for ESPN+. These services contributed $5.5 billion in revenues to Disney’s Media and Entertainment Distribution business that quarter.