21st Century Fox has just increased their bid to obtain the 61% stake of Sky that they don’t already own.
21st Century Fox and Sky have announced that they’ve reached agreement on an increased recommended pre-conditional cash offer for the fully diluted share capital of Sky which they do not already own at a price of £14.00 for each Sky Share which is up from their original bid of £10.75 per share.
This new bid exceeds Comcast’s bid of £12.50 per share.
The Acquisition remains subject to one outstanding precondition, being the approval of the UK Secretary of State. On Tuesday, the UK Secretary of State stated that he intends to announce his final decisions by Thursday, July 12, 2018.
Disney has already stated that they would proceed with their attempts to acquire the rest of Sky News regardless of whether or not their takeover of most of Fox goes through.
Also, according to Reuters, The Walt Disney Company offered its consent to the increased bid and added “In the event that the Disney transaction does not complete due to the failure to obtain regulatory approvals or in certain other limited circumstances, Disney has agreed to reimburse 21CF for an amount equal to the difference between the cash consideration (i.e. £14.00) and £13.00 for each Sky share purchased by 21CF pursuant to the increased 21CF offer (plus any interest and fees on such amount).”
The following comments were taken directly from the 21st Century Fox release:
“As the founding shareholder of Sky, we have remained deeply committed to bringing these two organizations together to create a world-class business positioned to deliver the very best entertainment experiences well into the future. We strongly believe that a combined 21CF and Sky will be a powerful driver for the continued growth and vibrancy of the UK and broader global creative industries. The enhanced scale and capabilities of the combination will enrich Sky’s ability to continue on its mission for years to come, especially at a time of dynamic change in our industry. This transformative transaction will position Sky so that it can continue to compete within an environment that now includes some of the largest companies in the world, but none of whom have demonstrated the same local depth of investment and commitment to the UK and to Europe.
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. 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.”
