Industry

FOX Corporation has reached an agreement to acquire Roku in a deal valued at approximately $22 billion, combining one of the largest portfolios of live sports and news content with a streaming platform that reaches more than 100 million households worldwide. The transaction will bring together FOX’s sports, news and entertainment assets, including Tubi, with Roku’s connected TV platform, The Roku Channel, first-party data capabilities and extensive streaming footprint. The combined company is expected to become one of the largest players in the U.S. television market, spanning broadcast, cable and streaming distribution.

According to the companies, Roku will continue to operate as an open platform while maintaining broad distribution partnerships. The deal is designed to strengthen FOX’s presence in connected TV, streaming advertising and subscription-based services, while expanding its reach across the broader video ecosystem.

Lachlan K. Murdoch, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Corporation, said: “This is a defining moment for FOX, and a natural extension of the deliberate and focused strategy we have been executing for nearly a decade. In 2019, we reoriented the company around live news and sports. In 2020, we acquired Tubi and under our stewardship it has become one of the most successful businesses in streaming. Today, we take the next step: bringing together the most valuable live content portfolio in video consumption with the preeminent streaming platform through which America watches it. This combination will transform the scope of our company into high-growth verticals and yield a step change in our overall growth profile. And we are executing this acquisition from a position of financial strength – maintaining our investment grade balance sheet while providing our shareholders with an uninterrupted return of capital program in the form of share buybacks and dividends. Roku pioneered streaming TV and scaled it into a leading CTV platform. Together, we intend to lead its next chapter.”

Anthony Wood, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Roku, said: “Over the past two decades, we’ve built Roku into the leading TV streaming platform, reaching more than 100 million households globally and reshaping how people discover and enjoy entertainment. I’m incredibly proud of what our team has built, and the combination with FOX is an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate our vision, scale faster and innovate more aggressively for viewers, partners and advertisers. That’s why our Board of Directors unanimously determined after concluding its strategic review process that this transaction offers a significant premium to Roku shareholders while also providing them with the opportunity to participate in the compelling future upside of the combined company. I couldn’t be more excited about what we’ll accomplish together.”