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‘Sealed bids’ auction for Sky draws near as investors hold out for more money

Published: 10:06 18 Sep 2018 BST

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Hardly any of Sky’s shareholders have agreed to sell their shares to Fox or Comcast in anticipation of a better offer

Sky PLC (LON:SKY) shareholders are holding out for another bid from either Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOX) or Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), with very few having accepted one of the two offers currently on the table.

As of yesterday, only shareholders representing 0.07% of Sky had opted to accept a 1,400p bid from Rupert Murdoch’s Fox, while 0.29% had agreed to sell their shares to Comcast, which has offered 1,475p.

READ: Sky could go up for auction

Both of those offers are to remain open for acceptances until October 6, but with Sky shares currently at 1,575p and no mention from either party that these are their final bids, investors look to be anticipating at least one more offer.

According to reports, a number of high-profile hedge funds such as Paul Singer’s Elliott Management and Odey Asset Management are among those sitting on their hands and waiting.

Under UK takeover rules, Fox and Comcast have until September 22 to make a best and final bid or confirm that they have already gone as high as they are prepared to.

If neither does that, a ‘sealed bids’ auction process will be triggered, something which has only happened a handful of times before.

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