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via The Hollywood Reporter | Why the Studios Might Sell Hulu (Analysis)

Hulu Makes it Official: It's For Sale (Report)

5:01 PM 6/22/2011 by Paul Bond

The online provider of TV content, which is owned by three media conglomerates, has hired a couple of investment banks to help it through a possible sales process.

The media conglomerates and private equity firm that own Hulu have hired Guggenheim Partners and Morgan Stanley to help sell the popular but controversial Internet property, the Los Angles Times has reported.

The news comes a day after news broke that Hulu had received at least one acquisition offer and insiders noted that Yahoo in particular was kicking the tires on Hulu, which delivers TV shows over the Internet for free with ads or ad-free to subscribers who pay $7.99 a month.

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The Times sites people familiar with the matter and Hulu, along with owners News Corp., Disney, NBC Universal and Providence Equity, have not commented on the matter. A Yahoo spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter the company would not address "rumor or speculation."

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Hulu has drawn criticism from cable and satellite TV companies that license shows from Disney, News Corp. and NBC Universal, but insiders say that any deal to sell Hulu would include assurances that the three conglomerates continue to provide the site with their premium content.

Beyond Yahoo, there's a long list of companies that could potentially benefit from a Hulu acquisition, including Google, Apple, DirecTV and AOL.

EDIT: Report by Home Media Magazine