Fox Corp., looking to pair its sports and news programming with a top-tier streaming service, announced on Monday that it’s buying Roku.
Fox figures the cash-and-stock deal, worth some $22 billion, will help the company take advantage as audiences more and more shift their attention to online viewing.
According to a report from Reuters, the deal gives Fox access to the more than 100 million households using Roku’s streaming platform.
It is Fox’s first major acquisition since CEO and Chairman Lachlan Murdoch took over from his father, Rupert, following a family settlement last year.
Lachlan on Monday called the 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,” according to Reuters.
Fox shares fell 8% in premarket trading. Roku rose 2.6% to $147.5, but traded below the offer price of $160 per share.
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. That represents a 33.7% premium to Roku’s close on Thursday, a day before publications including Reuters reported it was exploring options including a sale.
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 $400 million in annual cost savings. Fox plans to fund the cash portion through new debt and cash on hand, backed by $12 billion in committed bridge financing from Morgan Stanley.
