Sky Plc (LON:SKY) has been in limbo since the end of last year, when Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox Inc. (NASDAQ:FOX) made an offer for the 60.9% of the company it doesn’t already hold, with the deal always going to be politically controversial.
As expected, the regulatory approval process for the deal has been lengthy, and is yet to be resolved – with a referral to the Competition & Markets Authority only finally announced last month.
But as the acquisition drags on, Sky is continuing its business as usual, and a first quarter trading update on Thursday likely to illustrate this.
Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown thinks Sky’s revenues are still growing, albeit more slowly than previously, with its full year numbers reasonable.
However, the ever-increasing cost of football rights has seen costs rise, putting profits under pressure, and should the Fox deal fall through, investors will hope that Sky’s new, more flexible sports packages can maximise the return on its most valuable but also most burdensome asset.
Significant events expected on Thursday October 12:
Trading update: Hays plc (LON:HAS), Sky Plc (Q1) (LON:SKY)
Finals: WH Smith Plc (LON:SMWH)
Interims: Booker Group PLC (LON:BOK), N Brown Group PLC (LON:BWNG)
Ex-dividends: To knock 7 points off FTSE 100 index -Centrica PLC (LON:CNA), HSBC Holdings PLC (LON:HSBA), Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO)
Economic data: RICS UK housing survey; US weekly jobless claims, US forward PPI data