Hulu is in play

Posted by on Jun 21, 2011 in acquisitions, Content | 2 comments

tvHow does a company that isn’t for sale go into play? It gets an interesting offer. the appears to be the case with Hulu.

Web-video site Hulu LLC is weighing whether to sell itself, according to people familiar with the matter, its latest strategic crossroads as the fight over distributing TV content online intensifies.

Hulu’s board is considering the move after a potential buyer for the company approached it with an unsolicited offer, these people said. The identity of the buyer couldn’t be learned.

Since the company is now likely for sale, I will be very surprised if more potential buyers don’t enter the arena.  Any buyer will need very deep pockets. Making money on Hulu could be impossible  for anyone borrowing to buy. It’s major content providers, the alphabet networks, frequently add and remove content on a whim.  They also take the lions share of Hulu’s  revenue in exchange for that same unstable supply of content. As part owners they  may very well have the right to veto any buyer or offer.

UPDATE: According to Engadget, Hulu has retained the services of investment bankers to facilitate a sale.

2 Responses to “Hulu is in play”

  1. drdog09 says:
    June 21, 2011 at 8:38 pm

    Wouldn’t put too much stock in this. Not saying it can’t or won’t happen, but members of the board are required by their position to consider all offers for sale. The reason is they have the fudicary to work for the stockholders. If the sale would engender more $$ than continued operations the the sale might happen. But you can’t determine that until you hear the tender from the buyer. And with SEC rules today you are required to disclose all such forward looking transactions.

  2. admin says:
    June 21, 2011 at 9:07 pm

    My first reaction too, but speculation isn’t the usual form for the WSJ. Time will tell.