Disney will take full control of Hulu after paying Comcast $8.61 billion

Disney is set to take full control of Hulu. The Walt Disney Company announced today that it will acquire the 33% stake in Hulu, which has been held by Comcast. The price? A cool $8.61 billion.

“The acquisition of Comcast’s stake in Hulu at fair market value will further Disney’s streaming objectives,” Disney said in a statement. Under the terms of the arrangement, Disney will pay NBCUniversal $8.61 billion, which represents “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.“

However, that number might not be the final price that Disney has to pay. “Under the appraisal process agreed to by Disney and Comcast, Hulu’s equity fair value will be assessed as of September 30, 2023,” reads the press release, “and if the value is ultimately determined to be greater than the guaranteed floor value, Disney will pay NBCU its percentage of the difference between the equity fair value and the guaranteed floor value. While the timing of the appraisal process is uncertain, we anticipate it should be completed during the 2024 calendar year.“

Disney assumed majority control of Hulu in 2019 as part of a “put/call” deal, which allowed either company to force a sale of the remaining stock.

Earlier this year, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the company still hadn’t decided whether to purchase Comcast’s stake in Hulu. “I mentioned that the first earnings call that I did after I came back that everything was on the table. And in fact, everything was on the table,” Iger said. “But I’ve now had another three months to really study this carefully and figure out what is the best path for us to grow this business and it’s clear that a combination of the content that is on Disney+ with general entertainment is a very strong combination from a subscriber perspective, from a subscriber acquisition-subscriber retention perspective and also from an advertiser perspective.“