Disney hankering for more Hulu; Boingo 2018 earnings reported; Greycroft gives Beam a boost

Backed by Greycroft, Beam Gains $5 Million

Downtown headquartered venture capital firm Greycroft Partners led a Feb. 28 $5 million funding round for San Francisco-based Beam Solutions Inc., developers of transaction and fraud monitoring software for securities and banks. The Business Journal reports Beam also gained a $2 million debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank, and will use the total $7 million to expand regionally and hire more staff.

Boingo Announces 2018 Earnings

Westwood-based Wi-Fi provider Boingo Wireless Inc. announced its 2018 financial results Feb. 27, reporting revenue rose 22.7 percent year-over-year to total roughly $251 million. Socaltech reports that while fourth-quarter revenues posted at $68.7 million, the earnings per share were roughly 1 cent, compared to analyst predictions of nine cents per share. Net loss in the fourth quarter for Boingo was $0.4 million, compared to $1 million the previous year.

Disney Seeking Greater Hulu Stake

Walt Disney Co. already holds a 30 percent stake in West Hollywood-based streaming outfit Hulu alongside NBCUniversal but wants another 10 percent currently owned by WarnerMedia and AT&T Inc. Disney is in talks to buy 20th Century Fox Corp. and awaiting regulatory approvals, and reported last summer that Hulu’s value could reach $9.3 billion after the closure of the Fox deal, including a potential control premium of $1.25 billion, according to Variety.

Tech reporter Samson Amore can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 556-8335. Follow him on Twitter @samsonamore.