Disney and NBCUniversal are locked in a dispute over how much Disney must pay NBCUniversal to acquire the remainder of Hulu.
Disney ADMITS IT STILL OWES BILLIONS TO COMCAST OVER Hulu DEAL | Financial News | Disney Stock News
Disney paid Comcast's NBCU a previously agreed-upon minimum price of $8.6 billion late last year, and both sides had their own bankers calculate how much more, if any, was owed. Comcast had a put option on its Hulu stake, meaning it could force Disney to buy the stake. CEO Bob Iger could have flipped it to someone else, but decided to hold on to it and consolidate Hulu as part of Disney's streaming strategy.
But for how much? Not surprisingly, the former partners parted ways. Disney’s camp felt it was clear that NBCU was owed another $5 billion. As provided for in the original contract, the dispute was turned over to a third party, a confidential arbitrator, for a final decision. In an SEC filing today in conjunction with its quarterly earnings, during which streaming posted its first profit, Disney said it can’t predict the outcome of the Hulu fight but that it will be liable for between zero and $5 billion.
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