Fox strikes back at Comcast in Sky bidding war

21st Century Fox has put in an increased offer to buy those bits of Sky it doesn’t already own, beating an earlier counter-offer from Comcast.

Fox bid £10.75 per share for Sky back at the end of 2016, but the bid was stalled by UK regulators taking a closer look at it to see what effect it would have on media plurality in the UK. They eventually concluded the potential acquisition could go ahead so long as Sky news is sold, to ensure its independence.

By that time, however, US cable and media giant Comcast had taken an interest and in April of this year counter-bid to the tune of £12.50 per share. After mulling this over for a few weeks Fox has decided Sky is worth fighting for and has raised its own bid to £14 per share – valuing Sky at around £24.5 billion.

“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,” said a Fox statement. “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.”

Apparently some UK politician still need to give such a deal their seal of approval, something that is expected to happen later this week. Fox is itself in the process of being acquired by Disney and maybe the imminent arrival of a wealthy parent that competes directly with Comcast probably contributes to its willingness to persist with a bidding war.