21st Century Fox to Acquire Minority Stake in Leading Smart Glasses Designer and Manufacturer Osterhout Design Group

NEW YORK & SAN FRANCISCO

21st Century Fox and Osterhout Design Group (ODG) today announced a preliminary agreement for 21st Century Fox to acquire a minority stake in ODG, a leading augmented and virtual reality and smartglasses designer and manufacturer.

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Pending the completion of final agreements, 21st Century Fox will become the principal outside investor in ODG. In addition, the two companies plan to enter into a strategic partnership that brings together ODG’s revolutionary technologies with 21st Century Fox’s industry leading content and storytelling.

ODG is further cementing its leadership in the Smartglasses arena as it moves into immersive experiences for entertainment with the introduction of its high-definition, cinema-wide field of view technology which it is demonstrating at CES 2016.

“The power of virtual and augmented reality enables us to deliver on our longstanding commitment to bring audiences exciting new creative experiences fueled by next generation technologies,” said Jim Gianopulos, Chairman and CEO of 20th Century Fox Film, a unit of parent company 21st Century Fox.

He continued, “Our agreement with ODG underscores the innovation we are bringing to market through our Fox Innovation Lab, most recently with VR experiences for The Martian and Wild. We look forward to partnering with ODG and serving as its lead outside investor as the ODG team pushes the film experience into the future with its high-definition, cinema-wide field of view technology.”

“We’re excited to have 21st Century Fox join our family and help extend our considerable leadership in AR head-worn computing,” said Ralph Osterhout, CEO of ODG. “This space is ultimately heading towards widespread consumer adoption and by having 21st Century Fox onboard, we’ll be able to deliver immersive and interactive entertainment experiences that transform how users consume content.”

ODG’s current smartglasses, the R-7, feature ultra-transparent 3D stereoscopic displays and offer innovative technologies in a small, light and sleek design. The R-7 requires no external computing and delivers a quality user experience of display clarity, on-board processing power and system accuracy.

About Osterhout Design Group

San Francisco-based Osterhout Design Group (ODG) was founded in 1999 as a technology incubator and today is focused on revolutionizing wearable technologies and developing innovative and sophisticated situational awareness, security and first-responder solutions for government, enterprise and ultimately, consumer markets. The company is privately held with over 80 employees.

About 21st Century Fox

21st Century Fox is the world’s premier portfolio of cable, broadcast, film, pay TV and satellite assets spanning six continents across the globe. Reaching more than 1.8 billion subscribers in approximately 50 local languages every day, 21st Century Fox is home to a global portfolio of cable and broadcasting networks and properties, including FOX, FX, FXX, FXM, FS1, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FOX Sports, Fox Sports Network, National Geographic Channels, STAR India, 28 local television stations in the U.S. and more than 300 channels that comprise Fox International Channels; film studio Twentieth Century Fox Film; and television production studios Twentieth Century Fox Television and a 50% ownership interest in Endemol Shine Group. The Company also holds a 39.1% ownership interest in Sky, Europe’s leading entertainment company, which serves 21 million customers across five countries. For more information about 21st Century Fox, please visit www.21CF.com.

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21st Century Fox
Nathaniel Brown, 212-852-7746
nbrown@21cf.com
or
Beth Handoll, 415-535-8658
beth.handoll@osterhoutgroup.com