When's the last

When's the last time you watched something on Roku? When's the last time you even thought about Roku? Unless their logo is on your TV remote, I'd be willing to bet it's been a little while. Despite this lack of cultural relevance, Fox has decided to buy Roku for about $22 billion and that logo on your TV remote is exactly why. In the deal itself, Fox is buying 73% of the company for $14.2 billion with $12 billion of that in cash and the rest in Fox stock. This means Fox is paying about $160 per share of Roku, which is a 33% premium from the $120 that Roku last closed at. Fox shares fell about 15% on the announcement while Roku shares about the same amount. As part of the deal, Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood will stay on board as part of the board of directors at Fox. So why would Fox buy a forgotten streaming company? I can answer that in one word, distribution. Roku is in over 100 million homes globally and the majority of those aren't Roku subscribers, they own Roku TVs. Roku has had the cheapest smart TVs in the market for years now. If you don't believe me, go to the electronic section at your local Walmart and see for yourself. This is led to wide-spread adoption of their TVs and that's all that Fox cares about. They can pin Fox channels to the top of the home screen and they can also skim profit from their competitors that are already on Roku.