Aug 7 Reuters Walt Disney said on Wednesday it may have to pay up to 5 billion more to buy Comcast39;s minority stake in Hulu, if an appraiser were to agree with Comcast39;s assessment that the stake should be valued at more than 40 billion.

Earlier this year, Disney and Comcast hired investment bank RBC Capital as the independent appraiser to resolve a dispute over how to value the 33 stake in the streaming platform, according to people familiar with the matter.

Reuters was first to report in May that Disney and Comcast were seeking to hire an independent adviser.

The two sides have entered into arbitration proceedings to resolve the dispute and a final decision is expected in fiscal 2025.

Disney and Comcast signed an agreement for Hulu in 2019 with an option strike date of January 2024, after Disney39;s 71 billion takeover of Fox39;s assets, including its minority stake in Hulu.

The deal gave Disney majority control over Hulu as it already owned a 33 stake. Comcast retained its stake at the time believing that its value would rise significantly by 2024.

In November last year, Disney agreed to take control of Hulu and pay Comcast at least 8.6 billion for the remaining 33 stake, after Comcast triggered the deal as part of the 2019 agreement.

Disney said on Wednesday if the independent adviser39;s valuation is equal to or below the guaranteed floor value of 27.5 billion, it would not have to pay Comcast anything more than the 8.6 billion that it paid out last year….