Comcast has seemingly won the 21-month battle for European broadcasting giant Sky. The winning bid by Comcast values the 61% share of the company up for grabs at $40 billion.
21st Century Fox, soon to be owned by The Walt Disney Company, currently owns the other 39% of Sky. However, Comcast would become the controlling owner if Sky shareholders approve the bid.
The final round of the auction for the broadcasting giant was a “sealed bid”, but the Takeover Panel made the offers public today. Comcast offered $22.57 a share, a $2 premium over Fox’s $20.46 bid.
These offers must now be made official by both companies before the Sky board can make a recomendation. Shareholders will then have until October 11 to accept an offer.
Disney, once the 21st Century Fox acquisition is complete, will have ownership of the 39% minority share of Sky.
From Wikipedia:
Sky plc is a pan-European, British media and telecommunications company headquartered in London. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain. Sky is Europe’s biggest and leading media company and largest pay-TV broadcaster, with 21 million subscribers and 30,000 employees as of 2015.