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After more than two years of haggling, Disney has finally closed its deal with Comcast to buy out NBCUniversal‘s one-third stake in Hulu — and Disney is paying much less than it would if NBCU had its druthers.
In December 2023, Disney paid $8.61 billion to Comcast, which represented one-third of the $27.5 billion guaranteed floor value for Hulu that was set when the companies entered into their agreement in 2019.
The two sides last year entered into arbitration to determine the final price tag. Now, that final number has been calculated: Pursuant to the contractual appraisal process that was completed on June 9, 2025, an additional $438.7 million is payable by Disney to NBCU to purchase NBCU’s interest in Hulu, according to a Disney SEC filing Monday. The acquisition of NBCU’s interest in Hulu will close on or before July 24, 2025, per the filing.
The bank hired by Comcast to assess the value of NBCU’s stake would have resulted in an additional $5 billion payable by Disney.
“We are pleased this is finally resolved. We have had a productive partnership with NBCUniversal, and we wish them the best of luck,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. “Completing the Hulu acquisition paves the way for a deeper and more seamless integration of Hulu’s general entertainment content with Disney+ and, soon, with ESPN’s direct-to-consumer product, providing an unrivaled value proposition for consumers.”
A Comcast spokesperson said in a statement, “Hulu was a great start for us in streaming that generated nearly $10 billion in proceeds for Comcast and created an important audience for NBCUniversal’s world-class content. We wish Disney well with Hulu and appreciate the cooperative way our teams managed the partnership.”
In May 2024, Disney and NBCU entered into a “confidential arbitration” to resolve the dispute over the appraisal process to determine the fair value of Hulu “in which the parties seek declaratory relief, equitable relief and unspecified damages,” Disney disclosed. Per the companies’ agreement, if the two sides’ valuations were not within 10% of each other, the banks they enlisted for the transaction would pick a third firm to make another estimate, and Hulu’s final valuation will be the average of the two figures that are closest to each other.
During the initial phase of the appraisal process, Disney’s appraiser arrived at a valuation below the guaranteed floor value, while NBCU’s appraiser arrived at a valuation substantially in excess of the guaranteed floor value. The final equity fair value, which was completed on June 9, 2025, takes into account the valuation of a third appraiser, which if it had been equal to or below the guaranteed floor value would have resulted in no additional amount payable to NBCU and if it had been consistent with the NBCU’s appraiser’s valuation would have resulted in an additional amount of approximately $5 billion payable to NBCU as its share of the difference between the equity fair value and the guaranteed floor value.
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