Rupert Murdoch’s pay TV company Foxtel is nearing a sale with a privately owned British streaming service as the strongest contender, but the key to finalizing this complex deal may lie in Saudi Arabian investment. Saudi Arabia could be involved in News Corp’s Foxtel sale. The British buyer in the running for Foxtel – which owns Sky News Australia, Binge, and Kayo – is DAZN, founded and financed by British-American billionaire Len Blavatnik.
Blavatnik, who amassed his wealth through the privatization of natural resources after the collapse of the Soviet Union, has kept DAZN (a prominent part of his Access Industries investment portfolio) operational by injecting billions of dollars into the company since its launch in 2015. These billions have been used to acquire sports broadcasting rights and rival platforms, aiding DAZN’s ambition to become the Spotify or Netflix of sports. However, Blavatnik’s financial support has dwindled. During the 2022 financial year, Blavatnik’s investment in DAZN dropped to $US240 million ($380 million), down from $US730 million ($1.16 billion) the previous year. Between 2020 and December 2022, DAZN recorded losses of $US4.1 billion ($6 billion). This shift has led industry observers to question how DAZN would finance its acquisition of Foxtel. That’s where another deal, simultaneously developing alongside DAZN’s talks with News Corporation, comes into play, and it could reshape the Australian sports landscape. Having endured several years of substantial losses, DAZN began seeking $US1 billion ($1.57 billion) in investment this year. The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) is emerging as its likely provider in October. The PIF has recently invested billions in sports and entertainment assets, as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s “Saudi Vision 2030” to diversify the oil-dependent economy
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