The Walt Disney Company has bought the last outstanding share of BAMTech — the company that powers the company’s streaming offerings — for $900 million, the media conglomerate announced Tuesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
With the purchase of its 15% stake in Major League Baseball, Disney now owns all of the streaming technology services companies that provide Disney Plus, Hulu, and other direct-to-consumer services. The company now known as Disney Streaming was founded in 2000 as MLB Advanced Media to power the league’s online operations and its website MLB.com before a shift in focus to streaming to a spin-off of what was then known as BAMTech well-known streaming department led .
Disney’s interest in the company started in 2016 with a $1 billion investment This gave it a 33% stake with the option to acquire a larger stake over the years. A year later, it paid another $1.58 billion for 75%, and last year the company bought the National Hockey League’s 10% stake for $350 million.
The acquisition was completed in November while the company’s board of directors surprise move to oust CEO Bob Chapek and bring back former boss Bob Iger as Chapek’s replacement. Iger will assume the role for two years, the board said, to “set the strategic direction for renewed growth.”
