Comcast Buys the Remaining Stake of Sky
After nearly two years of trying to acquire Sky, 21st Century Fox has sold its remaining 39% stake worth about $15 billion. This comes after a bidding war that took place last Saturday over the other 61% of Sky.
In that bidding war, which went to a final concealed bid round, Comcast offered £17.28/share (roughly $22.59) versus Fox’s £15.67/share bid. Fox held the upper hand in the bidding war, as they held 39% at the time and were incentivized to push the bid higher and thus increase the value in their stake.
Sky is seen as a door for U.S. media giants into the European market and is seen as desirable for their vertically integrated model. It should be noted that Walt Disney Corporation recently acquired the majority 21st Century Fox’s holdings, excluding Fox Sports’ subsidiaries.
Key Questions:
- How will Comcast finance this acquisition and how will they fare with that debt in the future?
- What will this mean for future mergers in the media industry, which has been ripe with M&A’s over the last year?
