21st Century Fox has increased its offer for Sky to £14 per share. Fox is looking to take full control of the broadcaster against a rival bid from the US media giant Comcast.
It places a premium of approximately 82.1% on the closing price of £7.69 per share made on 6 December 2016, the day before the original offer was made; and 30.2% on the original Fox offer.
Significantly, the offer is also 12% higher than Comcast’s April 25 offer.
“We said when we announced our proposed acquisition of Sky that we were firmly committed to UK’s creative industries and the contribution they make to the UK economy,” said 21st Century Fox in a statement. “We remain committed to the UK and believe that our offer for Sky will bring the best value for all the company’s stakeholders and are delighted that the Independent Board of Sky has recommended our offer to its shareholders.”
Fox itself – or at least the majority of its interests – is in the process of being sold to Disney. While that transaction is not dependent on the Sky offer being completed, it did require Disney’s permission to increase the offer and its debt in order to do so.
