Hulu has hired Guggenheim Partners to advise on a sale of the company, even as the financial services firm is considering making its own bid for the video streaming service, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Providence Equity Partners confirmed Friday that it has sold its 10% stake in Hulu. The media-focused private equity firm sold its stake back to Hulu for $200 million, peHUB reported earlier this week. Providence invested $100 million in Hulu in October 2007.

Providence Equity Partners’ seventh fund will likely come in at around $5 billion, according to two sources who attended the firm’s annual meeting last week. Separately, Providence has finally completed the sale of their 10% stake in Hulu for $200 million.

Providence Equity Partners has raised upwards of $4.5 billion for its seventh fund, which has a target of $6 billion, and the firm will likely hold a final close in the third quarter, peHUB has learned.

Walt Disney, Comcast Corp. and News Corp are buying Providence Equity’s 10% stake in Hulu, according to a report.

Providence Equity Partners might not be ringing in a happy New Year. The private equity firm is currently out fundraising for its seventh pool, Providence Equity Partners VII LP. The fund has a $6 billion target, half of Providence’s prior pool, sources say. A first close for the fund was reportedly expected over the summer. [...]

As sale and IPO processes continue to wither in the face of turbulent markets, the owners of Hulu, the streaming entertainment company, announced late Thursday they would not, in fact, pursue a sale of the company. News Corp., Providence Equity Partners, and the Walt Disney Co. are among Hulu’s owners. Previously, it was reported that strategic bidders had failed to satisfy sellers’ requirements.

(Reuters) – Two leading lawmakers on privacy — a Republican and Democrat — have asked the Federal Trade Commission to look into MSN.com and Hulu.com’s installation of cookies onto users’ computers that cannot be deleted. In a letter dated on Monday, Representatives Joe Barton and Ed Markey asked FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz what plans the [...]

(Reuters) – The auction of online video site Hulu has been slowed by recent developments which could derail it completely, according to sources familiar with the process. Among the issues are conflicts over complicated digital rights, a wide bid-ask gap, and Yahoo being sidelined as a potential buyer by its own issues. Moreover, NBC Universal’s [...]

Google TV hasn’t exactly been setting the world on fire. The Motorola Mobility acquisition will help Google’s set-top television business—but it only goes so far. Even the acquisition of Hulu won’t turn the online search titan into a perennial competitor to traditional television networks. Hulu itself is facing smaller margins; its streaming entertainment business is [...]