Rupert Murdoch’s entertainment conglomerate 21st Century Fox has reached a preliminary deal to buy the rest of Sky plc for £11.2bn.
Fox is offering to pay £10.75 pounds per share, the equivalent of about £11.2bn.
Fox already owns just over 39 per cent of Sky plc, and the deal price values the entire broadcaster at £18.5bn.
Sky shares jumped 27 percent to close at £10 each on the London Stock Exchange on Friday.
Stock of 21st Century Fox fell 3.4 per cent to $27.67 in afternoon trading in the US.
However, Sky and 21st Century Fox both said in statements that they’re still talking about some terms and a definitive deal is still not certain.
Second attempt
Murdoch had previously tried to take full control of Sky but was sidelined in 2011 amid the phone-hacking scandal at his British newspapers.
Murdoch had previously tried to take full control of Sky but was sidelined in 2011 amid the phone-hacking scandal at his British newspapers. / AP PHOTOS
Media regulator Ofcom had launched an investigation into the acquisition, citing the potential large share of British media the Murdochs would control.
At the time the Murdochs proposed spinning off Sky News as a seperate plc, independently funded for 10 years. The plans were approved by then Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
Ofcom had launched an investigation into the 2011 merger plans, citing the potential large share of British media the Murdochs would control. The Murdochs then proposed spinning off Sky News as a seperate plc. REUTERS
Murdoch-owned News Corp also publishes the Times and the Sun.
Taking control of Sky would give 21st Century Fox, which owns cable networks Fox News, FX and the Fox broadcast channel and a major Hollywood film studio, a distributor in Europe.
Sky plc has 22 million customers in the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy.
It sells television, phone and broadband services, has its own news operation and sports channels and makes some TV shows.
There has long been speculation that another takeover deal was coming from 21st Century Fox.
James Murdoch, Rupert’s son and the CEO of 21st Century Fox, became chairman of Sky in April. He had been CEO of Sky, then known as BSkyB, from 2003 to 2007 and chairman from 2007 to 2012.
Sky plc has 22 million customers in the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. AP PHOTOS
The pound’s 16 per cent drop against the dollar since June, when Britain voted to leave the European Union, would have made the U.K.-based Sky cheaper to acquire.
A combination of 21st Century Fox and Sky would be the latest to bring together a maker of TV and movies and a distributor of it.
Wireless carrier AT&T has proposed buying HBO, CNN, TBS and film studio owner Time Warner in the U.S. for $85.4 billion.
Cable giant Comcast finished its takeover of NBCUniversal in 2013.
Entertainment companies are under pressure to adapt to changing video habits as consumers increasingly “cut the cord” on traditional TV and spend more time watching video on their phones.
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HeadlineMurdoch-owned 21st Century Fox bids £11.2bn to take full control of Sky
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Rupert Murdoch’s entertainment conglomerate 21st Century Fox has reached a preliminary deal to buy the rest of Sky plc for £11.2bn.
Fox is offering to pay £10.75 pounds per share, the equivalent of about £11.2bn.
Fox already owns just over 39 per cent of Sky plc, and the deal price values the entire broadcaster at £18.5bn.
Sky shares jumped 27 percent to close at £10 each on the London Stock Exchange on Friday.
Stock of 21st Century Fox fell 3.4 per cent to $27.67 in afternoon trading in the US.
However, Sky and 21st Century Fox both said in statements that they’re still talking about some terms and a definitive deal is still not certain.
Second attempt
Murdoch had previously tried to take full control of Sky but was sidelined in 2011 amid the phone-hacking scandal at his British newspapers.
Murdoch had previously tried to take full control of Sky but was sidelined in 2011 amid the phone-hacking scandal at his British newspapers. / AP PHOTOS
Media regulator Ofcom had launched an investigation into the acquisition, citing the potential large share of British media the Murdochs would control.
At the time the Murdochs proposed spinning off Sky News as a seperate plc, independently funded for 10 years. The plans were approved by then Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
Ofcom had launched an investigation into the 2011 merger plans, citing the potential large share of British media the Murdochs would control. The Murdochs then proposed spinning off Sky News as a seperate plc. REUTERS
Murdoch-owned News Corp also publishes the Times and the Sun.
Taking control of Sky would give 21st Century Fox, which owns cable networks Fox News, FX and the Fox broadcast channel and a major Hollywood film studio, a distributor in Europe.
Sky plc has 22 million customers in the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy.
It sells television, phone and broadband services, has its own news operation and sports channels and makes some TV shows.
There has long been speculation that another takeover deal was coming from 21st Century Fox.
James Murdoch, Rupert’s son and the CEO of 21st Century Fox, became chairman of Sky in April. He had been CEO of Sky, then known as BSkyB, from 2003 to 2007 and chairman from 2007 to 2012.
Sky plc has 22 million customers in the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. AP PHOTOS
The pound’s 16 per cent drop against the dollar since June, when Britain voted to leave the European Union, would have made the U.K.-based Sky cheaper to acquire.
A combination of 21st Century Fox and Sky would be the latest to bring together a maker of TV and movies and a distributor of it.
Wireless carrier AT&T has proposed buying HBO, CNN, TBS and film studio owner Time Warner in the U.S. for $85.4 billion.
Cable giant Comcast finished its takeover of NBCUniversal in 2013.
Entertainment companies are under pressure to adapt to changing video habits as consumers increasingly “cut the cord” on traditional TV and spend more time watching video on their phones.
