Sky PLC (LON:SKY) has seen the latest shot fired in its long-running bid saga, with Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOX) confirming the satellite broadcaster has agreed to recommend its increased £24.5bn offer to shareholders.
Fox’s new cash bid of 1,400p a share tops a 1,250p per share offer from rival Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA).
READ: UK government approves Fox's takeover of Sky as long as it agrees to sell off Sky News
Rupert Murdoch’s Fox initially launched a 1,075p per share agreed bid to buy Sky – of which it already owns 39% - in December 2016.
However, the around £19bn takeover bid was then embroiled in a takeover probe until June this year when the UK government approved the deal as long as the Sky News business is sold off to a “suitable third party”.
But Sky had pulled its recommendation for Fox’s initial offer in April after Comcast swooped in with its improved £22bn bid.
With Sky’s current share price at 1,483p, down 1.2% on yesterday's close above 1,500p, its shareholders could still be betting that even more bids could be forthcoming.
George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown commented: “Fox coming back in for Sky isn’t a surprise in itself, but the fact the offer is slightly behind what some had anticipated brings another twist.
“In fact, there’s every chance it might entice another counter from Comcast. That might explain why the shares still trade above the latest offer price.”
Fox bid situation
Aside from the Sky bid, Comcast - which owns CNBC, NBC Universal and Universal Pictures – is also battling with The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) for a swathe of assets from Fox itself.
Last month Disney launched a US$71.3bn offer for the assets, which include the Twentieth Century Fox film and TV studio as well as the US cable networks and regional sports channels, trumping a US$65bn deal tabled by Comcast earlier in June.
Not up for sale are Fox News, Fox Sports 1, the Fox broadcast network or its television stations, which - irrespective of who eventually wins – will be spun off into a new company, for the moment, dubbed New Fox.
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