Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch confirmed that the company will exercise its option to buy an 18.6% stake in FanDuel.
Murdoch made the comments at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference on Tuesday. He did not give a firm timeline, adding Fox has six years to act on the FanDuel option before it expires in 2030.
That said, the option gets pricier each year because of a 5% escalator. Murdoch also noted a more than $2 billion difference in value according to estimates from Goldman Sachs.
Murdoch called Fox “tremendous believers in sports betting,” both in the business itself as well as how it engages sports fans. FOX Bet operated from 2019-2023 in the US sports betting market and came under the Flutter umbrella, but was permanently shuttered in July 2023 amid a legal dispute.
FanDuel value estimated at $35 billion
Murdoch pointed to the Goldman Sachs estimate, which looked at the valuation of FanDuel on its own. FanDuel is majority owned by Flutter, with Boyd also owning 5%.
Goldman Sachs estimates FanDuel alone is valued at $35 billion. That would make Fox’s 18.6% stake worth around $6.5 billion.
Fox, meanwhile, had its 18.6% stake valued at $3.7 billion, with that 5% escalator bringing the cost to around $4.3 billion as of June 30. Fox also owns around 2.4% of parent company Flutter.
“But we will exercise it,” Murdoch said. “We’re not going to leave $2 billion on the table. We think that, by the way, that option grows with value over the next six years.”
Fox already working on licenses
Owning nearly one-fifth of a gaming company means Fox will need to be licensed as a gaming operator, Murdoch said.
“To fully monetize the option we need to be licensed as a gaming operator, even with only 18.6%,” he said. “And so we’ve started that process with state regulators to begin the gaming licensing approval.”
FanDuel offers sports betting in Washington DC and 22 states, 19 of which include mobile sports betting.
FanDuel did not respond to requests for comment.
