Disney continues to hold a stake in FuboTV-owner FaceBank group

Disney and FaceBank Group revealed in a regulatory filing late Monday that Disney continues to hold a stake in FaceBank, the parent company of live-TV streaming platform FuboTV, one it acquired with the acquisition of 20th Century Fox. Disney owns convertible preferred stock worth 6.63 million shares of FaceBank Group’s common stock, which would represent a nearly 5% voting stake in the company.

That stake will be fluid, however, as FaceBank also filed a form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday, detailing plans for a secondary stock offering. The company listed $100 million as the amount it hopes to raise, though this figure is typically a placeholder that is updated in a successive filing.

The move comes as FaceBank finally released its 2019 year-end report and its first-quarter results. The company had received an extension of time for the filings, as well as for its second-quarter report, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FaceBank generated first-quarter revenue of $7.3 million, compared with no revenue in the prior-year quarter, but tripled its operating loss to more than $18.1 million. This resulted in a net loss of more than $55.6 million and a loss per share of $1.83, growing nearly six-fold from its $0.27 loss per share in the year-ago quarter.

The company also has a debt-laden balance sheet, with just $81,000 in cash and more than $55 million in long-term debt, so it’s little surprise FaceBank is working to raise capital.

Disney’s continuing stake in FuboTV comes as the company is well on its way to becoming a powerhouse in streaming, adding might to its multi-media empire. During the conference call to discuss its fiscal third-quarter earnings, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Disney+ had surpassed 60.5 million paid subscribers, a goal the company didn’t expect to reach until 2024. The Motley Fool