Reports: Providence exits Hulu

Providence Equity Partners has sold its 10% stake in Hulu to the site’s other owners, according to US reports, in a deal that puts the value of the video-on-demand business at around US$2bn.

Disney, Fox parent News Corp and NBCUniversal owner Comcast Communications have bought the stake for roughly US$200m, according to reports in TechCrunch and Bloomberg over the weekend.

Providence’s exit has been anticipated since April this year when the private equity firm entered talks with Hulu’s co-owners.

Earlier this year, a report in Variety cited a leaked internal Hulu memo suggesting  the company’s owners were considering a number of changes to its content agreements, plus a transition plan should CEO Jason Kilar decide to step down. Meanwhile, FastCompany said last week that Kilar is “on the verge of being dispatched by his bosses.”

Bloomberg claims Kilar stands to make US$40m from the sale. He was in Cannes last week for Mipcom and delivered a speech in which he announced a new deal with Viacom and a copro with BBC Worldwide. Uncharacteristically for a keynote, however, he left the stage straight after without taking  questions.