Fox Corp. COO John Nallen Says Roku Deal On Track To Close Despite “Entirely Expected” DOJ Scrutiny

Fox Corp. chief operating officer John Nallen has said the firm's $22 billion (£17.5bn) acquisition of streaming platform Roku remains on track, despite the US Department of Justice requesting additional information as part of its review. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference in San Francisco, Nallen described the DOJ's request as "entirely expected" and reaffirmed that the deal is still expected to close in the first half of 2027. The comments matter because the merger combines two companies at pivotal moments in their growth, though the process faces an unpredictable variable in the form of President Trump, whose relationship with Fox chairman emeritus Rupert Murdoch has long been fraught, particularly following Fox News's recent dismissal of host Maria Bartiromo.

Nallen said Roku is at an "inflection point" while Fox's streaming service Tubi has turned profitable with surging revenue, predicting the deal will prove "a superb transaction". He added that the combined company would not carry excessive debt, citing an expected leverage ratio of 2.8 times trailing earnings and rapid deleveraging, while a planned share buyback of $1 billion to $1.5 billion (£790m-£1.19bn) would proceed unaffected. On other matters, Nallen said Fox's streaming flagship Fox One is seeing subscriber growth "above expectations" against a target of three to five million subscribers within five years, having already gained 2.8 million sign-ups partly driven by last summer's World Cup coverage.