Fox Corp to Acquire Roku in $22 Billion Deal to Boost Streaming Presence

Fox Corp is buying Roku in a cash-and-stock deal ⁠valued at about $22bn in a bet that pairing its sports and news programming with a top TV streaming platform will strengthen its position as audiences shift online.

The deal, ⁠announced on Monday, gives ⁠Fox access to ​the more than 100m households using Roku’s streaming platform, potentially helping the cable TV-reliant media company better target ads and reduce reliance on traditional distribution.

It is Fox’s ⁠first major acquisition since its CEO and chairman, Lachlan Murdoch, cemented control over the media empire his father Rupert built, following a family settlement last year.

Lachlan on Monday called the Roku ⁠deal a “defining moment” for Fox that brings “together the most valuable live content portfolio in video consumption with the preeminent streaming platform ​through which America watches it”.

Fox shares fell 8% ‌in premarket trading. Roku rose ‌2.6% to $147.5, but traded below the offer price of $160 per share.

One of the first companies to bring streaming ‌platforms like Netflix and YouTube to television through connected devices and smart TVs, Roku’s business is largely driven by advertising and subscription revenue from streaming apps on its platform. The company also operates the free-to-watch Roku Channel.

Advertising is its largest component, with revenue of $613m in the first quarter, up 27% year-on-year.

Under the deal, Roku investors will receive $96 in cash and about 0.97 Fox Class A shares for each share held, valuing the offer ‌at $160 per share.

While Fox dominates cable ​TV with its sports lineup and top-rated Fox News, its streaming presence is limited to the free-to-watch service Tubi at a time when cord-cutting by consumers is accelerating the shift from traditional television.

Buying Roku gives it more heft in ad-supported streaming, with the combined company set to become the third-largest player in US television by viewership, the companies said.

“This gives Fox ⁠greater control over discovery, data and monetization at a time when TV viewing continues to ​shift away from traditional channels,” the PP ​Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore said.

Fox shareholders will own ​roughly 73% of the ‌combined company after closing, ​with Roku investors holding ​the rest.

The boards of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of calendar year 2027 and generate about $400m in annual cost savings.

Fox plans to fund the cash portion through new debt and cash on hand, backed by $12bn in committed bridge financing from Morgan Stanley.