News Corp has completed the sale of Foxtel Group to DAZN Group in a $2.1 billion deal that gives the Rupert Murdoch-led company a 6 percent equity stake in the U.K.-based sports streaming platform. The transaction marks a strategic exit from the Australian pay TV business and a shift toward more focused growth pillars within News Corp’s portfolio.
The deal, initially struck late last year with co-owner Telstra, received approvals from the Foreign Investment Review Board, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and other regulators. In addition to equity in DAZN, News Corp received $592 million in repaid shareholder loans at closing. News Corp Senior Vice President and Deputy CFO Andrew Cramer has also joined DAZN’s board of directors.
News Corp CFO Lavanya Chandrashekar said the sale would allow the company to sharpen its focus on its highest-performing business segments. “The sale of Foxtel is significant for News Corp, and will enable greater focus on our core growth pillars, which drove over 95 percent of total segment EBITDA in the company’s fiscal second quarter,” she said. “It will also meaningfully strengthen our balance sheet and should reduce future capital intensity and improve return on invested capital.”
News Corp CEO Robert Thomson praised Foxtel’s evolution and expressed confidence in DAZN’s ability to lead the next chapter. “Foxtel’s successful transformation to becoming a leading provider of sports and entertainment is a result of the team’s tenacity, creativity and professionalism. Foxtel employees should be proud of their contribution to that success in the ultra-competitive content contest,” he said. “We are confident that DAZN is poised to drive the next phase of Foxtel’s growth and we are delighted to be DAZN’s partner and shareholder. And we are pleased to have extra capital strength and optionality.”
Foxtel will continue to operate under its existing brand as a standalone business, now backed by DAZN’s global scale and investment in sports content and technology. Foxtel Group CEO Patrick Delany called the deal a major opportunity for expanding reach and content offerings.
“As part of DAZN, we now benefit from their global scale, their leading technology platform and their track record in innovation that will allow us to more effectively compete with the global streaming giants,” Delany said. “A big part of what drives us at Foxtel is bringing the best sports and the best sports production to our subscribers. We now have the opportunity to take the AFL and NRL, our two largest and most iconic Australian sports, to a massive global audience.”
DAZN CEO Shay Segev also emphasized the importance of the Australian market and the potential to build on Foxtel’s strong local brand. “This is an exciting day for DAZN and Foxtel Group and a significant milestone for DAZN as we expand our global footprint into Australia, a key sports market with passionate fans,” he said. “Foxtel’s strong local presence, combined with DAZN’s global scale, technology and content rights, will unlock incredible opportunities for sports fans, advertisers and partners, while continuing to deliver great drama, lifestyle and news content.”
Integration efforts will be phased to ensure continuity for Foxtel employees, partners, and customers.
