World’s biggest cable TV firm ready to hijack Sky takeover

US rival prepares to gatecrash Disney/Fox deal

AMERICA’S biggest cable TV network is preparing an opportunistic bid for Sky even as it looks likely to be bought by Disney, sources claim.

Comcast, which owns NBC and Dreamworks film studios, is hungrily eyeing the FTSE 100 broadcasting company despite it being included in a deal struck by 21st Century Fox and Disney, a City source told the Mail.

The giant network has already tried to buy Fox, but is understood to be ready to swoop for its prized UK broadcaster.

if tabled, it would put Sky at the heart of the £39bn deal between Fox and Disney. Sky is considered a major asset because it has access to millions of customers in europe and is hailed as a technology pioneer.

Comcast, while not a recognisable name in the UK, is one of america’s biggest companies, worth £138bn. as well as TV networks and film studios, it also supplies broadband and TV services to millions of homes.

Fox already owns 39pc of Sky and is trying to buy the rest of the company for £11.7bn.

This proposal is being closely scrutinised by the UK Competition and Markets authority (CMA), with delays frustrating bosses at Fox and leaving a cloud of uncertainty over the sale.

if it was approved, Disney would become the parent of Sky under its deal with Fox.

But the entertainment giant has also indicated it would be happy to settle for a 39pc stake in the event the deal is rejected.

Disney sees Sky’s network of 22.5m customers as a valuable network it could use to directly sell its own products.

it is understood executives resisted efforts by Fox executive chairman rupert Murdoch to retain Sky in a spin-off company that will include Fox assets not included in the Disney deal, such as Fox news.

The City source did not say when Comcast – which was in talks to buy Fox until Monday – could make a rival bid.

However, the media giant could pounce if Fox’s takeover of the British company fails.

Moody’s, the global credit rating agency, yesterday announced that it saw a stand-alone Sky as a possible scenario.

The CMA is due to publish its early findings in January, following heavy criticisms of the deal by campaign groups and prominent MPs from different parties, including Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable, former Labour leader ed Miliband and former Conservative chancellor Ken Clarke. it follows concerns about the impact that Sky’s sale would have on the UK’s media landscape and whether Fox meets broadcasting standards.

Last night a spokesman for Fox strongly rejected any suggestion it would be open to rival bids for its Sky stake.

reiterating the statement made on Thursday’s Disney deal, she added: ‘The announcement does not alter our full commitment and obligation to conclude our proposed transaction to acquire the balance of Sky that we do not already own.

‘We remain confident the CMA and the Secretary of State [for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Karen Bradley] will approve the transaction on its merits.’ if approved by regulators, Fox’s bid to buy the remaining 61pc of Sky would be expected to complete in June.

Disney’s purchase of 21st Century Fox – excluding some parts such as Fox news, Fox Sports, Fox Business and a broadcast TV network of 28 local US television stations – is likely to take 12 to 18 months to complete, analysts have said.

a spokesman for Sky declined to comment. Comcast did not return requests for comment.