The management board and supervisory board of German pay-TV broadcaster Sky Deutschland have recommended its shareholders not to accept the offer by UK sister company BSkyB to acquire their stakes.
The management board and the supervisory board believe that the consideration offered by BSkyB does not reflect the long-term growth and profitability prospects and thus intrinsic value of Sky Deutschland, according to a joint statement. Therefore they can’t recommend acceptance of the offer.
BSkyB offers €6.75 per share as part of the UK broadcaster’s plan to create a Europe-wide pay-TV company that would also include Sky Italia. The bid is open until October 15, 2014.
As BSkyB, with its 57.4% stake, already holds the majority in Sky Deutschland, the overall plan to streamline its UK, Italy and Germany pay-TV activities across content, technology and logistics is not likely to be affected by minority shareholders declining the offer.
In a statement, BSkyB already said that there is no minimum acceptance condition as BSkyB believes it can realise the advantages of closer collaboration with its existing 57.4% stake.
The European Commission recently approved the creation of Sky Europe, arguing that it would not raise competition concerns as the companies involved served three separate markets.
