News Corp has agreed to sell a majority stake of its pay television business Foxtel to international sports media juggernaut DAZN, the companies announced early Monday morning.
The announcement comes about four months after reports indicated that News Corp had received an offer from an unknown party to acquire its 65 percent stake in the company.
On Monday, News Corp affirmed it will divest most of its stake in Foxtel to DAZN, with minority shareholder Telstra doing the same. Upon closure, News Corp will own a 6 percent of Foxtel, and Telstra will own 3 percent.
The proposed transaction values Foxtel at AU $3.4 billion (around U.S. $2.13 billion), the companies said in a statement.
Foxtel is the largest pay TV provider in Australia, and one of several entertainment companies offering a domestic streaming video platform. DAZN is the Netflix of sports, with live events streamed to 300 million users across 200 different countries and regional markets.
“This agreement is a victory for News Corp shareholders, DAZN, and sport fans in Australia and around the world,” said News Corp CEO Robert Thomson. “Foxtel has been transformed into a genuine digital and streaming leader in Australia, and we believe DAZN is the right owner to take the business to the next level with their technological capabilities, global footprint and compelling sports rights.”
Thomson said the transaction allows News Corp to focus on its newspaper and book publishing business, its real estate unit and financial market products. News Corp owns the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, Barron’s, MarketWatch, Realtor.com and Harper Collins; its UK business owns The Sun and The Times newspaper and the streaming channel Talk TV.
“Australians watch more sport than any other country in the world, which makes this deal an incredibly exciting opportunity for DAZN to enter a key market, marking another step in our long-term strategy to become the global home of sport,” Shay Seveg, the CEO of DAZN, said on Monday. “Foxtel is a successful business that has undergone a remarkable digital transformation in recent years, and we are confident that our global reach and relentless pursuit of innovation will continue to drive the business forward and ensure long-term success.”
Seveg said DAZN will maintain Foxtel’s “television and streaming services, across both sports and entertainment, using our world-leading technology to further enhance the viewing experience for customers.”
“We are also committed to using our global reach to export Australia’s most popular sports to new markets around the world, and we will continue to promote women’s and under-represented sports,” Seveg affirmed. “We’re looking forward to working closely with Patrick Delany and his team, as well as News Corp and Telstra as shareholders in DAZN, to realise our ambitious vision for the future of sport entertainment.’
Patrick Delany, the CEO of Foxtel Group, said DAZN’s ownership of the entertainment business will still allow it to be an Australian-owned company for the foreseeable future.
“ews Corp’s unwavering support and guidance has seen Foxtel successfully reinvent itself into a dynamic, streaming-led business delivering strong financial performance,” Delany said. “We are excited to embark on the next chapter with DAZN, a premier global sports streaming provider, as our new shareholder.”
