Thread:Gfourtx/@comment-2601:8C:801:DA4C:10F4:E0B3:FC11:6523-20181201125916/@comment-31947717-20181201182907

I hear the news about Disney might be set to gain even more control over Hulu: AT&T said it is considering selling WarnerMedia’s 10% stake in the streaming venture — which is worth as much as $930 million — as part of shedding nonstrategic assets to pay down its massive debt load. AT&T execs made the comments at the telco’s investor day briefing Thursday. It’s potentially looking to shed its Hulu minority stake as WarnerMedia gears up to launch its own subscription VOD service. AT&T said the new SVOD service, set to debut in the fourth quarter of 2019, will include three service tiers: one focused on movies; one with movies plus original programming; and a third tier comprising content from the first two along with WarnerMedia library content and licensed programming. If AT&T sells the WarnerMedia stake in Hulu, that could bulk up Disney’s ownership in the streaming TV company — giving the Mouse House even more incentive to invest in Hulu and expand it to international markets. Disney already is set to assume a majority ownership stake of 60% in Hulu under its deal to buy big chunks of 21st Century Fox’s assets, a transaction expected to close in the first half of 2019. Disney most recently said Hulu would carry a $9.296 billion fair value after the 21CF deal closes, including an implied control premium of $1.246 billion, per an SEC filing on June 28 in connection with the proposed Fox deal. That’s up from Hulu’s implied valuation of around $6 billion in August 2016 with Time Warner’s original investment.