Fox Corporation May Again Pursue Stake in FanDuel
FanDuel, one of our best sports betting sites, may soon undergo some ownership structure changes. According to comments from Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch, the media giant may soon stake claim to part ownership in the sports betting behemoth.
Fox Corporation already owns a 2.5% stake in FanDuel's parent company, Flutter Entertainment. That purchase came with the option to purchase an 18.6% stake in FanDuel, which the company had previously tried to exercise.
The option
Fox Corporation's option to purchase its stake in FanDuel is alive and well until 2030. With the growing user base for our best sports betting apps and more states joining the legal sports betting scene, the company will reportedly take another shot at completing the deal.
In the first attempt to reach a deal, Fox and Flutter were unable to agree on a price, and the groups headed to arbitration. In 2023, the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services tribunal ruled that the 18.6% stake would have been worth $3.7 billion and would increase 5% annually. That means the price would be about $4.3 billion in 2024.
Murdoch reported that Goldman Sachs recently valued the sports betting and gaming company at $35 billion. This means that the 18.6% stake would have a value of nearly $6.5 billion on the open market—more than $2 billion more than it would cost to buy. And that price difference wasn't lost on Murdoch.
"We're not going to leave $2 billion on the table," Murdoch told the crowd at the Goldman Sachs conference.
While nothing has been filed and the option has not yet been formally exercised, its expected based on Murdoch's comments that the move may be imminent.
FanDuel and Flutter Entertainment
As of Sept. 2024, FanDuel is legal in 20 states, the DC sports betting scene, and the Ontario sports betting market. As it competes with DraftKings to be the top sportsbook in most states, it continues to lure new customers with FanDuel promo codes.
FanDuel and Flutter both made headlines this summer for a variety of reasons.
With September serving as Responsible Gaming Education Month, the sportsbook was one of many operators that made moves. FanDuel teamed up with former NBA player Randy Livingston and his wife, sports agent Anita Ondine Smith, to launch Trusted Voices. It's a tool aimed at parents, guardians, and coaches to help them educate young people about gambling.
It also encouraged bettors to use its platform as the bread-and-butter NFL season got underway, offering users a free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket if they placed a $5 bet.
Flutter Entertainment was named one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential Companies of 2024 earlier in the summer, shortly after it moved its primary listing to the New York Stock Exchange from the London Stock Exchange.