Hulu Buys Out AT&T Stake in $15 Billion Valuation Deal
Hulu pays $1.43 billion to acquire AT&T's 9.5 percent minority stake, boosting the streaming service's valuation to $15 billion. The deal allows AT&T to reduce debt while it prepares to launch its own competing streaming platform.
Hulu pays $1.43 billion to buy back AT&T's 9.5 percent minority stake in the streaming service, a transaction that values the company at $15 billion. This new valuation represents a significant two-thirds increase from the $9.26 billion figure reported just last November. Disney currently holds a 67 percent majority ownership in the platform, while Comcast maintains the remaining 33 percent.
AT&T uses the proceeds from this sale to pay down its substantial debt load. The telecom giant originally obtained this minority stake through its acquisition of Time Warner, but AT&T and Hulu increasingly operate as competitors rather than partners. AT&T currently operates several streaming options, including DirecTV Now and WatchTV, and plans to launch a new direct-to-consumer WarnerMedia streaming service in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Despite the buyout, Hulu and AT&T promise to continue their business relationship. WarnerMedia remains a valued content partner that supplies TV shows and movies to the Hulu platform. Hulu CEO Randy Freer expresses gratitude for AT&T's past investment and emphasizes that the two companies still collaborate to offer customers the best live and on-demand television experience in one place.