(Reuters) -Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp said on Monday it would sell its Australian cable TV and streaming unit Foxtel to British over-the-top sports streaming and entertainment platform DAZN for A$3.4 billion ($2.1 billion), including debt.
As part of the deal, Foxtel’s current debt will be refinanced at closing and News Corp will hold a 6% stake in DAZN, a London-headquartered global streaming platform backed by billionaire Len Blavatnik.
The sale relieves News Corp, which owns print mastheads such as the Wall Street Journal, of its involvement in an asset that has struggled to cope in an era dominated by streamers like Netflix.
Foxtel has weighed on News Corp profit for years as the number of people who pay monthly subscriptions for its broadcast content switch to cheaper streaming options. Foxtel has itself launched a streaming service charging less than its traditional service.
News Corp will get one board seat at DAZN, which was founded in 2016 and is ramping up its efforts to become a global streaming platform like Apple TV.
The U.S. firm flagged in early August it might sell Foxtel after having received an approach.
Australian telecommunications firm Telstra will also divest its 35% stake in Foxtel, for A$128 million, and will emerge as a 3% stakeholder in DAZN.
The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second of fiscal 2025.
ASX-listed shares of News Corp gained 1% to A$49.65 in early trade while shares of Telstra traded 0.4% higher against a rising broader benchmark index.
($1 = 1.5997 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed and Sonali Paul)
