Roku Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) shares are rising Friday after Fox Corporation completed its acquisition of the streaming platform. Here’s what you should know.
- Roku stock is trading at elevated levels. What’s next for ROKU stock?
Roku Stock Rises As Fox Completes Acquisition
Roku shares are higher Friday as Fox wraps up its purchase of the company, and the stock comes off the Nasdaq today. Roku holders swap each share for $95.30 in cash plus 0.9799 Fox Class A shares. After the swap, Fox’s longtime shareholders own about 74% of the combined company, with former Roku holders owning the other 26% or so.
Fox says the deal marries its live sports, newscasts and regional programming to Roku’s connected TV platform, which reaches over 100 million households. Fox expects the combination to cut about $400 million in annual costs within two years and possibly add revenue. It also projects higher per-share free cash flow once the deal reaches its second full year.
Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said the closing “gives us great confidence in the opportunities ahead of us.”
Anthony Wood, who founded Roku, now sits on Fox’s board and co-chairs a new unit, Fox Digital Platforms, alongside Paul Cheesbrough, the unit’s co-chair and CEO. The unit covers Red Seat Ventures, Tubi, FOX One and Roku. Wood said Roku’s purpose of making TV watching better carries on, while Fox’s backing widens what the company can do.
Both companies pledged that Roku will stay an open platform, serving every content partner and giving viewers a broad choice of apps and channels.
Roku Stock Technical Read: Uptrend Into the Close
Roku’s chart showed a steady climb before the closing. From a May 29 high of $133.46, the stock fell to a June 11 low of $115.00 and then advanced to $161.48.
It trades above all three major moving averages, with the 50-day line over the 200-day and MACD positive. Support sat near $155.35 and $156.90, the levels that mattered had trading continued.
ROKU Shares Are Rising
ROKU Price Action: Roku shares were up 0.66% at $161.43 at the time of publication on Friday. The stock is trading near its 52-week high of $163.57, according to Benzinga Pro.
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