Many investors have given up on FuboTV (FUBO -4.44%).
The sports-oriented digital media streamer is trading more than 90% below its all-time highs, even though share prices have doubled in 2025. Moreover, industry giant Walt Disney (DIS -9.36%) is merging its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo, which will give the House of Mouse a controlling 70% ownership stake in the smaller company. That sounds very close to a straight-up buyout, with a few quirks.
Won't this be the end of the line for FuboTV investors, effectively folding the stock into Disney?
The deal behind the headlines
This is an unusual deal. Disney isn't buying the entire FuboTV business, but it lets the smaller company operate under a separate business structure. That may sound unimportant, but I think it's a game-changing idea.
With 70% ownership over the reformed FuboTV organization and a controlling presence on its board of directors, Disney can convey tons of industry expertise and also pitch in funding as needed. And the large ownership portion will funnel the majority of FuboTV's profit or losses into Disney's financial structure, giving the Mickey Mouse powerhouse plenty of cash-based incentive to help FuboTV make money.
Betting on the unique Disney deal
So what you'll get if the deal passes shareholder votes and other requirements is FuboTV doing what that company does best, but on steroids. I can't promise that FuboTV's stock will skyrocket from here, or that the ride to higher share prices will be smooth, but this could very well be the start of a fantastic growth story.
In other words, there is plenty of potential value in the standalone FuboTV at this point. The Disney transaction could be just what FuboTV needed to stake a long-lasting claim in the streaming sports coverage arena. A plain buyout could be less effective, and now investors have the opportunity to share in FuboTV's Disney-assisted risks and rewards.
