Fox Is Buying Roku in $22 Billion Deal

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Fox has stated that it will keep operating Roku as a "partner-friendly" platform in the future.

By Todd Spangler

Todd Spangler

NY Digital Editor

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Fox Corp. is making a bold move to tie its future to the streaming world, announcing plans to purchase Roku in a transaction that values the streaming platform at $22 billion.

Fox announced on Monday that it has agreed to acquire Roku for $160.00 per share through a mix of cash and Fox Class A common stock, giving Roku an enterprise value of roughly $22 billion. The two companies anticipate the deal will be finalized in the first half of calendar 2027.

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The merger brings together Fox’s sports, news, and entertainment content, along with the Tubi service, with Roku’s connected TV platform, the Roku Channel, first-party data, and its direct connection to over 100 million global streaming households.

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The companies have indicated they are “committed to continuing to operate Roku as an open, partner-friendly platform” and to the ongoing “ubiquitous” distribution of Fox content. Fox Corp. noted that Anthony Wood, Roku’s founder, chairman, and CEO, will have a continuing role at the combined entity and will join the Fox board after the transaction closes.

According to the companies, on a pro-forma basis, the combined organization will become the third-largest player in U.S. television by share of viewing.

Roku, established in 2002, was among the first companies in the streaming-devices space and has remained independent ever since, competing for market share against tech giants such as Amazon, Google, Samsung, and Apple. After years of difficulty achieving profitability, the company reported its first full-year profit in 2025, with net income of $88.4 million on revenue of $4.74 billion (up 15% year over year).

As of the end of March, Roku held $1.65 billion in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet with no debt.

Lachlan Murdoch, executive chair and CEO of Fox, described this as “a defining moment” for his company. He pointed out that after the sale of 21st Century Fox assets to Disney in 2019, Fox Corp. was left with broadcast and cable networks focused on live news and sports. In 2020, the company acquired the free, ad-supported streaming platform Tubi for $440 million, which now boasts over 100 million monthly users.

“This is a defining moment for Fox, and a natural extension of the deliberate and focused strategy we have been executing for nearly a decade,” Murdoch stated. The acquisition of Roku will unite “the most valuable live content portfolio in video consumption with the preeminent streaming platform through which America watches it. This combination will transform the scope of our company into high-growth verticals and yield a step change in our overall growth profile.”

Murdoch added, “Roku pioneered streaming TV and scaled it into a leading [connected TV] platform. Together, we intend to lead its next chapter.”

Wood commented in a statement: “Over the past two decades, we’ve built Roku into the leading TV streaming platform, reaching more than 100 million households globally and reshaping how people discover and enjoy entertainment. I’m incredibly proud of what our team has built, and the combination with Fox is an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate our vision, scale faster and innovate more aggressively for viewers, partners and advertisers.”

According to Wood, Roku’s board of directors unanimously approved the sale to Fox Corp. “after concluding its strategic review process that this transaction offers a significant premium to Roku shareholders while also providing them with the opportunity to participate in the compelling future upside of the combined company. I couldn’t be more excited about what we’ll accomplish together.”

Fox Corp. (under its earlier form as 21st Century Fox) had previously invested in Roku but sold its 5% stake in the company in 2020, when it purchased Tubi.

Under the deal’s terms, Fox will pay $96.00 per share in cash (about $14.2 billion) and offer 0.9693 shares of Fox Class A common stock for each outstanding Roku Class A and Class B share. Upon closing, existing Fox shareholders are expected to own roughly 73% of the combined company, while legacy Roku shareholders will hold approximately 27%.

When the deal closes, Fox expects the combined company to have a pro-forma net leverage ratio of about 2.8x (net debt divided by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). Fox noted that this ratio includes “50% credit for run-rate cost synergies.”

Fox plans to fund the cash portion of the Roku deal using a mix of new debt and cash on hand. Fox stated it has secured $12.0 billion in fully committed bridge financing from Morgan Stanley.

Fox anticipates that the Roku deal will be accretive to free cash flow per share by the second full year after closing (meaning by 2029). The companies expect $400 million in annual run-rate cost synergies from Fox’s combination with Roku, along with “additional revenue upside.”

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