Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has completed its $2.1 billion sale of Australian pay TV operator Foxtel to DAZN Group.
The deal, which received approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and other regulatory authorities, will see the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones owner will take a 6% stake in the U.K.-based sports streamer.
News Corp. senior vice president and deputy chief financial officer Andrew Cramer is also joining the board of DAZN and $592 million in shareholder loans were repaid to News Corp. at completion.
News Corp. CFO Lavanya Chandrashekar said the move would enable “greater focus on our core growth pillars,” which drove over 95% of total segment EBITDA in the company’s fiscal second quarter, as well as strengthen the company’s balance sheet, reduce capital intensity and improve returns on invested capital. The sale is expected to be accretive to earnings per share.
“Foxtel’s successful transformation to becoming a leading provider of sports and entertainment is a result of the team’s tenacity, creativity and professionalism. Foxtel employees should be proud of their contribution to that success in the ultra-competitive content contest,” News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson added. “We are confident that DAZN is poised to drive the next phase of Foxtel’s growth and we are delighted to be DAZN’s partner and shareholder. And we are pleased to have extra capital strength and optionality.”
Foxtel will continue to operate as a standalone business and retain its brand identity while benefitting from DAZN’s global reach, technology and investment in sports entertainment.
“As part of DAZN, we now benefit from their global scale, their leading technology platform and their track-record in innovation that will allow us to more effectively compete with the global streaming giants,” Foxtel Group CEO Patrick Delany said. “A big part of what drives us at Foxtel is bringing the best sports and the best sports production to our subscribers. We now have the opportunity to take the AFL and NRL, our two largest and most iconic Australian sports, to a massive global audience. For our Australian subscribers, it creates the opportunity to enjoy even more of the world’s best sports.”
Its integration into DAZN will be phased to ensure a seamless transition for the company’s employees, partners and customers.
“This is an exciting day for DAZN and Foxtel Group and a significant milestone for DAZN as we expand our global footprint into Australia, a key sports market with passionate fans,” DAZN CEO Shay Segev said. “Foxtel’s strong local presence, combined with DAZN’s global scale, technology and content rights, will unlock incredible opportunities for sports fans, advertisers and partners, while continuing to deliver great drama, lifestyle and news content.”
