- General
- April 16, 2019
- 5 minutes read
Hulu Buys Back AT&T Stake At $15 Billion Valuation
AT&T CEO Randall L. Stephenson image: World Economic Forum / RÈmy Steinegger AT&T has sold its 9.5% stake in video…
AT&T CEO Randall L. Stephenson
image: World Economic Forum / RÈmy Steinegger
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AT&T has sold its 9.5% stake in video streaming service Hulu back to the company for $1.43 billion, valuing the Netflix competitor at $15 billion. This is up more than 50% from a $9.3 billion valuation pegged by Disney (a 67% shareholder in Hulu following its acquisition of 21st Century Fox) last November. Comcast holds the remainder 33% of the company.
This sale makes for a case that Hulu may become a Disney-focused video streaming service in future time. Already, the entertainment powerhouse is preparing to launch its own streaming service — Disney+ — in November. It’ll cost $6.99 per month with an annual subscription option of $69.99 and feature titles like The Sword in the Stone, Magic Camp, a remake of Lady and the Tramp, Stargirl, Noelle, and Star Wars.
Hulu CEO Randy Freer
image: Hulu
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Hulu leads behind Netflix in the U.S. video streaming market, with more than 25 million subscribers. Its catalogue includes originals like Golden Globe Award-winning series The Handmaid’s Tale, Marvel’s Runaways, Castle Rock, Shrill, The Looming Tower, and live news, sports, and entertainment from the likes of CBS Corporation, Turner Networks, A+E Networks, NBCUniversal, Disney, and CBS Corporation.
AT&T says it will use the proceeds from this sale to reduce its debt.