Fox Strikes $22 Billion Deal to Acquire Roku, Beating Out Netflix

Fox buys the toll booth

Fox Corporation agreed on June 15 to acquire Roku for roughly $22 billion in a cash-and-stock deal priced at $160 per share, marking its largest acquisition since it shed entertainment assets to Disney in 2019cnbc. CEO Lachlan Murdoch called it a "defining moment," framing the combination of Fox's live news and sports channels with Roku's connected-TV platform as a bet on distribution over contentcnbc. Fox will fund the cash portion with roughly $12 billion in new debt, and existing Fox shareholders will own about 73% of the combined companycnbc.

Roku brings more than 100 million streaming households globally and 145 billion hours of engagement annually, accounting for roughly 44–45% of all streaming time on US televisionscnbc +1. Fox already operates Tubi, its free ad-supported streamer acquired for $440 million in 2020; Murdoch said Tubi and The Roku Channel would remain separate after the deal closes, noting only about a third of their audiences overlapcnbc. Fox targets around $400 million in annual run-rate cost synergies, with free-cash-flow accretion expected by the second full year post-close and a targeted close in the first half of 2027cnbc.

Netflix outbid, shares slide

Fox was not alone at the table. Netflix aggressively pursued Roku but was outbid by Fox's premium offer, according to a Semafor report, sending Netflix shares down 3.5% the following dayinvesting. The defeat extended a rough stretch: Netflix is down more than 17% year to date after also failing in an earlier run at Warner Bros. Discovery assetsinvesting. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos acknowledged the string of misses on an April earnings call, saying: "We really built our M&A muscle pursuing Warner Bros. We've learned so much about deal execution."investing

Structural factors favored Fox. Because its core business is live sports and news rather than subscription video, regulators were seen as less likely to object to Fox owning the operating system that hosts rival appsinvesting. Fox also pledged to keep Roku an open, partner-friendly platform, a commitment that reportedly swayed Roku's boardinvesting. Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood — who developed the original player inside Netflix before it was spun off in 2008 — chose to join the Fox board as part of the transaction247wallst.

Market skepticism meets a bold thesis

Fox shares tumbled 17% on the announcement day and have slid roughly 24.7% year to date through June 15, as investors weighed using low-multiple equity to buy a high-multiple asset: Roku was trading at a forward P/E near 62247wallst. Roku itself is up about 30% year to date247wallst. LightShed Partners analyst Rich Greenfield pushed back on the sell-off, telling CNBC that Fox is "buying the streaming gatekeeper where everybody else needs access" rather than burning cash on another direct-to-consumer service247wallst. Fox's Q3 FY26 earnings beat consensus handily — adjusted EPS of $1.32 versus $0.97 expected — giving it a relatively sturdy financial base heading into the deal247wallst.