Battle for Sky heats up as Murdoch raises his bid to £14 a share

RUPERT Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has hiked its bid to take full control of Sky to £14 a share as it looks to beat rival suitor Comcast in the battle for the pay TV giant.

Fox’s new offer for the 61% of Sky it does not already own values the company at £24.5bn.

It said the offer was around 12% higher than the £12.50-a-share bid submitted by the US cable group.

Fox’s sweetened bid is also around 30.2% higher than its original £10.75-a-share bid made in December 2016, which valued the 61% stake at £11.7bn.

Its move signals that Fox hopes to see off competition from Comcast after a long battle to buy out Sky, which has come under heavy scrutiny from the UK Government and competition watchdogs.

Earlier this month then UK Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said Fox would have to sell off Sky News in order to address media plurality concerns and secure Government approval for the deal.

Fox has already agreed to sell most of its assets — including its current 39% stake in Sky — to Walt Disney.

If Fox buys the remaining stake in Sky before completing the Disney deal, Disney would take full ownership of Sky when it closes its own takeover of the Fox assets.

But in a further complication to the takeover saga, Comcast has also made an all-cash offer for the Fox assets separate from its offer for Sky.

Comcast is preparing to post details of its £12.50-a-share Sky offer documents.

On its higher bid, Fox said: “As the founding shareholder of Sky, we have remained deeply committed to bringing these two organisations together to create a world-class business positioned to deliver the very best entertainment experiences well into the future.

“We strongly believe that a combined 21st Century Fox and Sky will be a powerful driver for the continued growth and vibrancy of the UK and broader global creative industries.”

Sky shares fell nearly 2% following details of Fox’s raised bid.

Fox is waiting for a final decision from the UK Government on its proposals over the sale of Sky News, given that the Murdochs also own newspaper publisher News Corp.