By Scott Murdoch and Rishav Chatterjee
SYDNEY (Reuters) -News Corp has agreed to sell its Australian cable TV unit Foxtel to British-owned sports network DAZN for A$3.4 billion ($2 billion) including debt, cutting the Murdoch-controlled media empire’s exposure to a business up-ended by streaming platforms.
News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) will gain a board seat and hold a 6% stake in DAZN, a London-headquartered global streaming platform available in North America, Europe, and Asia and backed by Ukranian-born billionaire Len Blavatnik.
DAZN is a broadcasting partner for Italy’s Serie A, Spain’s LaLiga, Germany’s Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1. It competes against traditional TV and satellite channels and provides access to a range of sports content, including American football, boxing and baseball over its streaming platform.
“Australians watch more sport than any other country in the world, which makes this deal an incredibly exciting opportunity for DAZN to enter a key market, marking another step in our long-term strategy to become the global home of sport,” said DAZN co-founder and CEO Shay Segev.
The valuation on Foxtel represents seven times its 2024 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), News Corp said in a statement.
As part of the deal, shareholder loans valued at A$578 million outstanding will be repaid in full and Foxtel’s current debt will be refinanced at closing.
Foxtel, launched by News Corp in 1995, has weighed on the media giant’s profits for years as the number of people who pay monthly subscriptions for its broadcast content switched to cheaper streaming options like Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX).
It has tried to diversify by adding its own streaming services like Kayo, which livestreams local sports Australian Football League (AFL) and the National Rugby League (NRL), to win back sports broadcasting market share. It also shows ESPN.
News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson said the deal would allow the company to focus on its core operations of Dow Jones, digital real estate and book publishing. News owns 61.4% of online real estate platform REA Group and is the parent company of publisher HarperCollins.
The deal is due to be finalised in the second half of 2025 and is subject to regulatory approval, News Corp said. Given the overseas ownership of DAZN, the transaction will need to be cleared by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).
FIRB did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Blavatnik is a dual U.S. and British citizen and the founder of Access Industries which has an investment portfolio worth more than $35 billion, according to its website.
Australian telecom Telstra (OTC:TLGPY) has also sold its 35% stake in Foxtel to DAZN and will receive A$128 million in cash for the repayment of shareholder loans and a 3% stake in DAZN.
ASX-listed shares of News Corp gained 2% to A$50.02 on Monday while shares of Telstra traded 0.4% higher against a rising broader benchmark index.
($1 = 1.5997 Australian dollars)
