Shares in Sky jumped 9 per cent to £17.22 in early trade today, just hours after US giant Comcast beat Rupert Murdoch’s Fox with a $40bn offer in a rare auction over the weekend.
The broadcaster has also confirmed this morning that it will accept Comcast’s £17.28 a share takeover offer immediately, calling it “an excellent outcome for independent Sky shareholders”.
Martin Gilbert, chairman of the independent committee of Sky thanked chief executive Jeremy Darroch and finance chief Andrew Griffith “for their outstanding leadership of the business throughout the twenty-one month bid process”.
Three rounds of bidding between the rivals resulted in Comcast tabling a winning 1,728p per share offer on Saturday, beating Fox’s 1,567p offer.
“Sky shareholders have benefited from seven months of competitive tension which has ultimately led to an auction process that has successfully concluded with the second increased offer from Comcast,” Sky’s committee told investors this morning, adding: “It is in the best interests of all Sky shareholders to accept the second increased offer. Given the possibility of a delisting of Sky in the near future, [Sky] urges shareholders to accept immediately.”
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