Fox buys Roku: New streaming giant for $22 billion
Fox is taking over the streaming provider Roku for 19 billion euros. The merger will create the third largest player in the US television market by 2027. In this way, the media group secures access to over 100 million households.
Billion dollar deal on the TV market
The US TV market is once again in motion, one can even speak of a small earthquake: The media group Fox is taking over the streaming provider Roku for the equivalent of around 19 billion euros. The deal announced today is expected to close in the first half of 2027. The aim of the transaction is to consolidate Fox’s market position in the growing streaming segment. The strategic bundling of forces creates the third largest provider in the US television market. Fox is offering existing shareholders a purchase price of around 138 euros per Roku share. The amount will be paid in cash and in the form of treasury shares. In order to be able to fully finance the cash portion, the group is taking out short-term loans amounting to around 10.3 billion euros. With the purchase, the media company secures direct access to over 100 million households worldwide that currently use Roku. Like the news agency AP reports, managing director Lachlan Murdoch is aiming for a better starting position for the coming decade with the merger. The combination of live news, sports and the reach of the platform offers new growth and advertising opportunities, or so Fox hopes. Roku founder Anthony Wood will join and serve on Fox’s board of directors following the closing of the transaction.
Strategy and historical development
Roku began as a spinoff of Netflix in the early 2000s. Wood originally developed the first set-top box to record and play episodes of the Star Trek series. From this, Roku developed into a major player in the multimedia box market. The Fox deal will not change anything for end users; the operating system will continue to exist as an open platform for various partners in the future, it is said. A restriction to pure Fox content is not planned, so users can continue to access external applications. In addition to the benefits of greater reach, the business also entails financial risks. The high level of debt will weigh on Fox’s balance sheet for the foreseeable future. The companies involved are calculating savings of the equivalent of around 345 million euros. This sum is to be achieved primarily through synergy effects in administration and technical infrastructure.
Previous Services and Consents
Fox has owned the free streaming service Tubi since 2020. The offer will continue in parallel to the existing Roku Channel without any far-reaching changes. Both portals have different target groups that the media group would like to market together in the future. This leads to closer integration of the various brands under the Fox umbrella and expands the portfolio. The shareholders of both companies as well as the responsible supervisory authorities still have to officially approve the project. Once the takeover is completed, existing Fox shareholders will hold 73 percent of the newly combined company. In return, the Roku shareholders will take over the remaining 27 percent of the shares. The final fate of the takeover now depends on the formal reviews. The streaming market is in flux.
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