Fox extends Sky offer
September 18, 2018
21st Century Fox has followed Comcast in extending its deadline for Sky shareholders to accept its £14 (€15.74) a share offer for the company until October 6th. It is now assumed Fox will raise its bid in the coming days ahead of the regulator’s September 22nd deadline, presaging a sealed bid auction run by the UK Takeover Panel.
Comcast has so far secured acceptances from 0.29 pr cent of Sky shareholders for its £14.75 a share offer, which has been recommended by Sky’s board, while Fox has secured less than 1 per cent of shares it does not already own.
In an auction scenario, Fox could theoretically only have to win over 11 per cent of shareholders to secure majority control, while Comcast would have to secure 50 per cent, or around 82 per cent of shares not controlled by Fox already.