Fox Corp. Closes $22 Billion Acquisition Of Roku

Fox Corp. has closed its $22 billion acquisition of Roku, creating a massive new player in streaming.

Shares in Roku, which was founded more than two decades ago, will stop trading on the Nasdaq as of Friday.

Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch earlier this week indicated that regulators outside the U.S. had blessed the merger, and there were reports that the U.S. Department of Justice also signed off. But the close came less than five months after the transaction was proposed last June, well ahead of the initially projected window of the first half of 2027.

Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood is expected to remain involved with the combined operation, joining Fox’s board of directors. He will also serve as Co-Chair, Fox Digital Platforms, the newly formed division that includes properties like Roku, Tubi, Fox One, Red Seat Ventures, alongside Paul Cheesbrough, who assumes the role of Co-Chair and CEO, Fox Digital Platforms.

Questions remain about how Fox intends to structure executive teams in advertising, product and other areas. Tubi, the free, ad-supported service Fox acquired in 2020, has thrived as a San Francisco-based group granted a degree of autonomy by its parent company.

One exec who could factor into the combination is Charlie Collier. The former CEO of Fox Entertainment has been president of Roku Media since 2022, though both companies have stayed mum about personnel plans during the merger review process.

Ahead of the deal, Roku said its platform reaches more than 100 million households, most of them in the U.S. but also in several other countries.

The official announcement of the deal’s close said it marks the beginning of “a new transformational era” for Fox. The transaction creates “an innovative, scaled media and technology company with superior reach, engagement and monetization capabilities,” the company added.

Fox expects to realize merger-related cost savings of $400 million within two years, and also sees the deal helping its free cash flow per share by 2028.

“The closing of this acquisition advances the long-term strategy of Fox,” Murdoch said. “Beginning today, our top priority for the combined company is to continue to relentlessly serve audiences and partners, while reinforcing the openness and choice that is the essence of the Roku platform. Our shared entrepreneurial passion and clear conviction toward building the future together with our new Roku colleagues gives us great confidence in the opportunities ahead of us.”

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Roku stockholders are entitled to receive $95.30 in cash and 0.9799 shares of FOX Class A common stock for each share of Roku Class A and Roku Class B common stock they owned immediately prior to closing. As a result of the transaction, FOX stockholders own approximately 74% of the outstanding shares of FOX common stock and former Roku stockholders own approximately 26%.

Wood added in a statement, “We started Roku more than two decades ago to give people a better way to watch TV, and that mission doesn’t change today. What does change is our reach and resources. Fox has a deep respect for Roku’s culture and wholly shares our commitment to staying open to every content partner. Our teams will keep building and innovating as they always have, now with the support and capabilities of Fox behind us. I’m proud of what Roku’s employees have built, and I’m excited about what comes next.”