Comcast wins Sky auction with $39bn bid

Brian Roberts

US cable group Comcast Corporation has outbid 21st Century Fox for European satcaster Sky after making an offer that values the company at more than £30bn (US$39bn) in a blind auction today.

Philadelphia-based Comcast bid £17.28 a share for control of London-based Sky, beating the £15.67 a share offer by the Rupert Murdoch-owned US company. This winning bid values Sky at £30.6bn, Comcast said.

The news brings to an end a dramatic bidding war between the two US giants for Sky, after Fox initially made a £10.75-per-share offer in December 2016. While Disney was in the process of acquiring an array of assets from 21st Century Fox, including 39% of Sky, it had initially looked set to take over the 61% of Sky that Fox does not already own.

Then NBCUniversal-owner Comcast stepped in and began successively topping Fox’s offers. In July, Fox increased its offer to £24.5bn but this was topped by a £26bn bid from Comcast. The bidding war between Disney-backed Fox and Comcast added at least US$8bn to the Sky pricetag and hands Comcast a sizeable European pay TV business with 23 million subscribers.

“This is a great day for Comcast,” Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast, said today. “This acquisition will allow us to quickly, efficiently and meaningfully increase our customer base and expand internationally.

“We couldn’t be more excited by the opportunities in front of us. We now encourage Sky shareholders to accept our offer, which we look forward to completing before the end of October 2018,” Roberts added.

Following Comcast’s superior bid in the blind auction, 21st Century Fox (21CF) said: “We note the increased cash offer for the fully diluted share capital of Sky by Comcast, and that it has been recommended by the Independent Committee of Sky.

“21CF is considering its options regarding its own 39% shareholding in Sky and will make a further announcement in due course. Sky is a remarkable story and we are proud to have played such a significant role in building the incredible value reflected today in Comcast’s offer.”