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Walt Disney Company acquires the remaining 15% stake owned by Major League Baseball (MLB) in its BAMTech streaming unit. The deal is said to be worth $900 million based on the filing with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission.
Walt Disney disclosed the acquisition deal on Tuesday, Nov. 29. The company said it has taken full control of BAMTech, a video-streaming company that was spun off from MLB Advanced Media, the baseball league's digital media company.
As per Reuters, prior to the acquisition, 85% of BAMTech was owned by Disney, and the remaining 15% belongs to Major League Baseball. Thus, the transaction now makes the mass media and entertainment firm the sole owner of the streaming technology services provider.
It was revealed that Disney started the process of buying a 33% stake in BAMTech in 2016 for $1 billion. It is fixed on buying it because it will allow the company to directly sell more content to consumers.
The MLB Advanced Media spinoff mainly provides the streaming platform for organizations such as Warner Bros Discovery's HBO and Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It also powers Hulu, ESPN Plus direct-to-consumer services, and Disney Plus.
The purchase comes shortly after Bob Iger was welcomed back by the company as its chief executive officer, replacing Bob Chapek. He returned to lead Walt Disney less than a year after saying he has retired.
Iger is now attempting to bolster profit as well as investors' confidence in its streaming media unit. Earlier this week, he also shared that one of his top priorities is to make Disney's streaming business more profitable.
Meanwhile, Variety reported that in Walt Disney's SEC filing this week, it said it is expecting Iger to "initiate organizational and operating changes within the company to address the board's goals" in the coming months.
"While the plans are in early stages, changes in our structure and operations, including within DMED (and including possibly our distribution approach and the businesses/distribution platforms selected for the initial distribution of content), can be expected," Disney stated in the filing. "The restructuring and change in business strategy, once determined, could result in impairment charges."
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