Disney interim chief monetary officer Kevn Lansberry mentioned the corporate is “very comfortable with our current liquidity position” because the time approaches for it to purchase Comcast’s one-third stake in Hulu.
Comcast can “put” its stake to Disney, or Disney can name it in, in January. Disney CEO Bob Iger mentioned again in May that “cordial” and “constructive” discussions had began with Comcast on that.
The ground for the “put” by Comcast is about $9.2 billion {dollars}, Lansberry famous on a convention name after Disney earnings in response to a query in regards to the firm’s potential to fund the transaction. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts has referred to as the streaming service “very valuable” and mentioned he hopes the stake will fetch extra that that. That’s taking a couple of third of the $27.5 billion assured ground worth of all of Hulu that’s set out within the put/name settlement from 2019.
Lansberry mentioned Disney has “about $11.5 billion of cash on our balance sheet. We’ve got $10.5 billion worth of revolving credit facilities and commercial paper. And we will have plenty of future cash flow to help fund all of this going forward.”
Despite current headwinds, Disney nonetheless has one of many strongest stability sheets amongst media firms.
“We made significant progress recently de-levering coming out of the pandemic. We are prioritizing free cash flow at the company and are being really disciplined and smart about how we go about allocating capital,” mentioned the interim CEO, who stepped in when Christine McCarthly exited in June.
Disney reported $1.6 billion in free money circulate final quarter.
In its quarterly SEC submitting, which might have a bit extra element that the earnings launch, Disney mentioned: “The Company and NBCU have been conducting a confidential arbitration concerning the parties’ rights and responsibilities under the Hulu limited liability company agreement. The Company expects a decision in that arbitration within the next quarter. The outcome of the arbitration is uncertain and we cannot reasonably estimate the amount of any potential loss or the impact on the determination of the value of Hulu’s equity pursuant to the Hulu limited liability company agreement and thus the amount we may be required to pay to acquire NBCU’s interest in Hulu.”
He mentioned Disney continues to be planning to advocate its board approve a modest dividend on the finish of the yr for the primary time because the payout was lower in May of 2020 to preserve money throughout Covid.