Providence Equity Sells its Share of Hulu to Co-Owners for $200M

By Rob Scott
October 16, 2012

Hulu co-owners Comcast, Disney and News Corp. have acquired Providence Equity Partners’ 10 percent share in the joint venture video site for a reported $200 million. The deal has been six months in the making.
If the reported sale price is accurate, Hulu would be valued at about $2 billion.
“With the official exit of Providence Equity, there is wide speculation over the future of Hulu, its existing licensing agreements, and its ability to maintain exclusivity over premium content,” reports MediaPost.
The sale also raises speculation that CEO Jason Kilar may cash out his shares (worth almost $100 million) and exit the company, as first reported by Variety over the summer.
“Thanks to Kilar’s vision and leadership, the service has grown from a single website serving up last night’s episode of ‘The Simpsons’ to a service featuring content from more than 400 partners as well as original series from filmmakers Richard Linklater, Morgan Spurlock, and Kevin Smith,” notes Fast Company in a related article. “Revenue soared 60 percent last year, to $420 million, and is on pace to exceed $600 million this year.”
Hulu Plus has more than 2 million paying subscribers (at $7.99/month) who can view the Hulu library on mobile phones, game consoles, tablets and Apple TV.

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