FaceBank Group and Fubo TV today announced a merger "expected to create a leading digital entertainment company." The new company Fubo TV Inc. — will "leverage FaceBank's IP sharing relationships with leading celebrities and other digital technologies to enhance its sports and entertainment offerings."
What's what mean for current customers? To be determined. But it's also very much a means of positioning for the future — especially given that Fubo is very much into live sports, and as of right now there aren't any live sports taking place thanks to the coronavirus.
From the press release:
The companies also believe the merger will position fuboTV to continue its global expansion with FaceBank's Nexway AG, a global ecommerce and payment platform with a business presence in 180 countries, accepting payments in roughly 140 currencies. fuboTV was the first virtual MVPD to commit to global expansion and in 2018 entered Europe with its launch in Spain.
In the meantime, Fubo TV remains one of the few ways to watch live sports in 4K resolution in the United States. (OK, upscaled 4K, but still.) Fubo's basic service gets you more than 100 channels for $55 a month. You can add more channels with the Fubo Extra plan, and there are a number of sports-related add-ons available as well.
Sports in 4K!
A big mix of content — and ultra-high-def sports!
Fubo TV has a mix of live channels that should be able to compete against pretty much any other service. And it's one of the few ways to watch sports in 4K in the United States. Once sports start happening again, that is.
FACEBANK GROUP AND FUBOTV ANNOUNCE DEFINITIVE MERGER AGREEMENT - COMBINED COMPANY TO BE NAMED FUBOTV, INC.
Proposed merger creates leading digital entertainment company offering cord-cutters a premium viewing experience across a global distribution network
Combined company to be led by David Gandler, CEO of fuboTV
NEW YORK – MARCH 23, 2020 – FaceBank Group, Inc. (OTCQB: FBNK), a leading celebrity and sports focused virtual entertainment company, and fuboTV Inc., a leading live TV streaming platform, today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement.
Immediately following the closing of the merger, fuboTV will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of FaceBank, and FaceBank will be renamed fuboTV Inc. The combined company is expected to be headquartered in New York and led by fuboTV CEO David Gandler as CEO. Additional announcements regarding the combined company's management structure and the Board of Directors will be forthcoming.
The proposed merger is expected to create a leading digital entertainment company, combining fuboTV's direct-to-consumer live TV streaming platform for cord-cutters with FaceBank's technology-driven IP in sports, movies and live performances. This combination will create a content delivery platform for traditional and future-form IP. fuboTV plans to leverage FaceBank's IP sharing relationships with leading celebrities and other digital technologies to enhance its sports and entertainment offerings.
The companies also believe the merger will position fuboTV to continue its global expansion with FaceBank's Nexway AG, a global ecommerce and payment platform with a business presence in 180 countries, accepting payments in roughly 140 currencies. fuboTV was the first virtual MVPD to commit to global expansion and in 2018 entered Europe with its launch in Spain.
Commented Gandler, Chief Executive Officer of fuboTV: "The business combination of FaceBank Group and fuboTV accelerates our ability to build a category defining company and supports our goal to provide consumers with a technology-driven cable TV replacement service for the whole family. With our growing businesses in the U.S., and recent beta launches in Canada and Europe, fuboTV is well-positioned to achieve its goal of becoming a world-leading live TV streaming platform for premium sports, news and entertainment content. In the current COVID-19 environment, stay-at-home stocks make perfect sense - we plan to accelerate our timing to uplist to a major exchange as soon as practicable. We look forward to working with John and his team of creative visionaries."
FaceBank founders John Textor and Alex Bafer commented: "As a tech-driven IP company, FaceBank was looking to find the perfect delivery platform for its celebrity and consumer driven content, with a dynamic user interface that could support the global consumers' rapidly evolving practices of content consumption. David and his team have a clear vision of the future and fuboTV's technology is second to none among the disruptor class of content delivery – a perfect match for FaceBank Group."
Since its founding in 2015 as a soccer streaming service, fuboTV has evolved into a live TV streaming platform with more top Nielsen-ranked sports, news and entertainment channels for cord-cutters than any other live platform. Continually innovating to give subscribers a premium viewing experience they can't find with cable TV, fuboTV is regularly first-to-market with new product features and is the only virtual MVPD to stream in 4K.
The Boards of Directors of both companies and the major stockholders of fuboTV have approved the transaction, which is anticipated to close during the first quarter of 2020, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions.
fuboTV is being advised by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati P.C. as legal counsel. FaceBank is being advised by Loeb & Loeb LLP and Anthony L.G., PLLC, as legal counsel, IndexAtlas AG as M&A advisor, and Axxcess Capital as financial advisor.
