With media M&A in the air, shareholders of both companies have approved Fox’s planned cash and stock acquisition of Roku at special meetings today.
The approvals were expected.
The deal announced in June – which will turbocharge Fox’s streaming capabilities – calls for the company run by Lachlan Murdoch to acquire Roku for $160 a share through a combination of cash and Fox Class A stock, giving Roku an enterprise valuation of $22 billion. On closing, Fox shareholders will own about 73% of the merged business, with Roku shareholders taking the other 27%.
Roku, founded in 2002, reaches around 100 million global streaming homes through its connected TV platform, and is in more than half of all U.S. broadband households. Fox operates its namesake broadcast network, a large local station portfolio, cable networks Fox News and Fox Business, subscription streamer Fox One, and a sports rights portfolio including the NFL, MLB, NASCAR, Big Ten and the FIFA World Cup.
Fox said at the announcement that the Roku purchase would “create a scaled next-generation media and technology company positioned at the intersection of two of the most important forces reshaping video consumption: the enduring primacy of live sports and news, and the continued rise of streaming.”
Roku founder, chairman and CEO Anthony Wood will have an ongoing role at the combined company and will join the Fox board.
Fox Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer John Nallen told investors at a media conference last month that the deal is on track to close in the first half of next year despite a new request for information from regulators. He called the request by the U.S. Department of Justice “entirely expected.”
It’s the latest transformative deal in a rapidly transforming media landscape that just saw Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery close their merger, creating the new Skydance.
In an SEC filing today, Fox noted nearly 100% of votes in favor of the deal. Roku’s tally will come in a filing Thursday.