UK: Comcast, Fox to settle US$35b takeover for Sky in an auction

Twenty-First Century Fox and Comcast are heading for an auction to settle a takeover of British broadcaster Sky, reported the Wall Street Journal.

The bidding process will officially begin on Friday evening, September 21, and will come to end on the following day, the UK’s Takeover Panel said Thursday, September 20, with a maximum of three rounds to decide the fate of the deal. Each bid must be made in cash.

The UK Takeover Panel, which polices deal making in the country, laid out rules for the auction. It is a process the regulator hasn’t run many times previously and never before with such a large company as the prize. London-listed Sky has a market value of some US$35 billion.

Such government-mandated auctions of big, publicly traded companies are rare reported the Journal. The Sky auction pits Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, which already owns 39% of Sky, against Comcast.

Mr. Murdoch has long sought to consolidate his holding in London-based Sky. Disney and Comcast see Sky as a way to expand internationally. The broadcaster also sells wireless, TV, and internet services throughout Europe, and it is a media company that produces its own news, entertainment and sports programming.

Full Content: Wall Street Journal