Disney Pegs Hulu’s Value At $9.3 Billion

Hulu is now worth $9.26 billion — the value the Walt Disney Co. assigned the streaming service in a recent regulatory filing.

Disney laid out the valuation of Hulu as part of an SEC filing today, in which it provides a trove of details about its planned merger with 21st Century Fox in a deal valued at $71.3 billion. (Today’s financial data dump is artfully timed to fall after the market closes and on the eve of national holiday, in a PR strategy to discourage close inspection.)

The Burbank entertainment giant will gain a controlling 60% interest in the streaming service once the transaction closes next year.

Disney goes through some complex calculations about how it arrived at its Hulu valuation, which is higher than the $9 billion at which it was pegged in April but lower than some analysts had guessed.

The service has appreciated in value since Time Warner bought a 10% stake in Hulu for $583 million in 2016; at that point, its value was pegged at less than $6 billion. The other venture partners, Comcast and Fox, each own 30% interest in the company.

Disney says its current 30% stake in Hulu is worth $2.425 billion.

Once the Fox acquisition is completed, the Disney says its interest in the streaming service would rise to $6.1 billion — a sum that includes a $1.25 billion bump for gaining control, according to the filing.

Hulu, which is available only in the U.S., has attracted 20 million subscribers. It’s dwarfed by Netflix, with its $114.3 billion market valuation and 137 million global subscribers.