Sept 8 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice is widening its antitrust inquiry into Fox’s $22 billion deal for streaming platform Roku, Semafor reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The DOJ’s move comes just months after Fox unveiled the $160 per share deal, which would combine its broadcast and sports operations with Roku’s streaming reach, making the combined company the third-largest player in TV viewing, behind YouTube and Disney and ahead of Netflix.
Roku shares fell about 2% in extended trading after the report.
The DOJ plans to seek more information from the companies through what is known as a “second request”, involving another round of data and document sharing, Semafor added.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The DOJ, Fox and Roku did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment outside business hours.
Fox said in June it was buying Roku in a cash-and-stock deal, betting the platform would strengthen its advertising business and expand its reach for sports and news content.
The deal would give Fox access to the more than 100 million households using Roku’s platform, helping the cable TV-reliant company build a larger digital audience and reduce its reliance on traditional distribution.
Under the agreement, Roku investors would receive $96 in cash and about 0.97 Fox Class A shares for each share held, valuing the offer at $160 per share.
Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch had earlier downplayed any potential conflict.
(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber, Arun Koyyur and Rashmi Aich)
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