Comcast Takes on Fox, Disney With $31 Billion Bid for Sky

• February 27 2018
• Joe Mayes

Comcast jumped into the fray for Sky Plc, challenging Rupert Murdoch’s 21 Century Fox Inc. and Walt Disney Co. with a cash offer valuing the business at 22.1 billion pounds ($31 billion) and opening the possibility of a bidding contest for the U.K.’s biggest …

Comcast jumped into the fray for Sky Plc, challenging Rupert Murdoch’s 21 Century Fox Inc. and Walt Disney Co. with a cash offer valuing the business at 22.1 billion pounds ($31 billion) and opening the possibility of a bidding contest for the U.K.’s biggest pay-TV company.

The owner of NBCUniversal is offering 12.50 pounds per Sky share, Comcast said Tuesday in a statement. That exceeds the 10.75 pounds offered by Fox for the 61 percent stake it doesn’t already own in the European broadcaster by about 16 percent.

Comcast’s timing suggests it sees an opening to win over U.K. officials and investors, with Fox struggling to secure regulatory approval for its bid and some Sky shareholders agitating for a better offer after Disney’s $52.4 billion agreement in December to buy most of Fox’s film and TV assets, including its stake in Sky.

“The market was anticipating another approach and will be pleasantly surprised,” said Alex DeGroote, media analyst at Cenkos Securities. The Comcast offer is “an attractive premium to the Fox bid,” he said.

Sky shares rose as much as 18.5 percent to 1,309.50 pence, higher than both bids.