Sports streaming platform DAZN has acquired Australian broadband company Foxtel Group from majority shareholder, Rupert Mordoff's News Corp, and minority shareholder Telstra, in a deal valued at $2.2 billion.
The acquisition, which is awaiting regulatory approval and is expected to be completed during the second half of financial year 2025, will establish the sports entertainment platform as a leader in its field in the Australian market, as well as enhance its global reach and footprint. According to DAZN's press release, the addition of Foxtel brings the group's pro-forma revenue to $6 billion and provides more content, experience and expansion opportunities to its growth trajectory.
Foxtel is one of Australia's leading media companies, with 4.7 million subscribers, who will have access to DAZN's range of sports content. From its beginnings as a pay-TV company in Australia, Foxtel has evolved into a leading sports, digital entertainment and live streaming company. The proposed deal therefore cements Foxtel as a digital-first company focused on streaming. Led by CEO Patrick Delaney, the company will maintain its “local character”, in addition to its existing management team.
DAZN aims to grow the global audience for local Australian sports across the 200 territories in which it is available. Under the terms of the deal, News Corp and Telstra (Australia's largest mobile network) will become minority shareholders in DAZN, enabling them to retain a stake in Foxtel. The minority stake in News Corp is about 6%, and the company will retain one seat on its board of directors. Meanwhile, Telstra's stake in DAZN is around 3%.
According to News Corp's announcement, the A$578 million outstanding shareholder loans owed to News Corp will be repaid in full in cash upon closing. Foxtel's existing debt will be refinanced upon closing and conversion with Foxtel. Telstra will also repay shareholder loans amounting to A$128 million.
Below are the officials' full statements:
Shai Segev, CEO of DAZN, said::
“Australians watch more sports than any other country in the world, making this deal an incredibly exciting opportunity for DAZN to enter a key market, representing another step in our long-term strategy to become the global home of sports. Foxtel is a successful business that has seen a significant digital transformation in years Finally, we are confident that our global reach and relentless pursuit of innovation will continue to drive the business forward and ensure long-term success.
We are committed to supporting and investing in Foxtel's TV and streaming services, across both sport and entertainment, using our world-leading technology to enhance customers' viewing experience. We are also committed to using our global reach to export Australia's most popular sports to new markets around the world, and will continue to promote women's sports and underrepresented sports.
We look forward to working closely with Patrick Delaney and his team, as well as News Corp and Telstra as shareholders in DAZN, to realize our ambitious vision for the future of sports entertainment.”
Siobhan McKenna, Chairman of Foxtel, said::
“Over the past seven years, the Foxtel team, with strong support from News, has achieved an exceptional turnaround in an intensely competitive environment.”
Patrick Delaney, CEO of Foxtel Group, said:
“Today’s announcement is a natural evolution for Foxtel Group, having reinvented the company over the past five years as Australia’s most dynamic, technology-led streaming company.
Kayo and Foxtel provide Australian sports fans with access to the best Australian and international sports and shows, including the AFL, NRL and Cricket with 4.7 million subscribers.
We are excited about DAZN's commitment to the Australian market. They are experts in sports media and can play an important role in supporting Foxtel as the company grows its broadcasting capabilities, providing a bigger and better service to customers across entertainment, news and sport. It's a perfect match for us as we look to the next era of growth.
We were grateful for News Corp's support as we reimagine the future of Foxtel. In 2019, when we combined Foxtel and Fox Sports, we had a lot of people wondering about our future.
Following the launch of Kayo later in 2019 and BINGE in 2020, today we are Australia's largest live sports and entertainment streamer, anchored our Foxtel base and launched Hubbl to help consumers find all the streaming content they love all in one place. This would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of News Corp.
Robert Thompson, CEO of News Corp, said:
“This agreement is a win for News Corp and DAZN shareholders and sports fans in Australia and around the world. Foxtel has become a true digital and streaming leader in Australia, and we believe DAZN is the right owner to take the business to the next level with its technology capabilities, global footprint and sports rights.” This transaction also allows News Corp to focus on our other growth pillars of Dow Jones, digital real estate and book publishing, while benefiting from repaying our shareholder loans and improving our credit profile We are proud to be a long-term partner of DAZN and its talented team.
