UK: Comcast confirms US$31b bid for Sky

US media group Comcast submitted a £22 billion (US$30.7 billion) bid for Sky on Wednesday, April 25, prompting the European pay TV group to drop its support for a lower offer from Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox.

The morning announcement by Philadelphia-based Comcast spurred a series of rapid-fire responses, reported Bloomberg. Minutes later, Fox said it’s committed to its own Sky bid and is considering options. Within the hour, Sky’s independent directors had pulled their recommendation for the Fox bid and welcomed Comcast’s.

Fox and Disney are now forced to respond, two months after America’s largest cable company threatened to disrupt Murdoch’s second attempt at full ownership of the UK broadcaster he founded. Fox, which already has a 39% stake in Sky, plans to sell the broadcaster to Disney as part of their US$52.4 billion merger announced in December.

Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger, who called Sky a “crown jewel” when his company announced its offer for Fox in December, now needs to decide how badly he wants to outdo Comcast for Sky and back a higher bid from Fox. The contest pits Iger against Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, after Disney won over Comcast in an earlier battle for Fox.

“It’s really a question of: How much do they want it?” said Sarah Simon, a media analyst at Berenberg. “Bob Iger has to decide how much he’s prepared to pay. Disney can obviously afford it.”

Full Content: Bloomberg

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