Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox makes formal £11.7bn takeover bid for Sky
Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has tabled a formal £11.7 billion takeover bid for broadcaster Sky.
Fox’s offer of £10.75 per share for the 61 per cent of Sky it does not already own values the Game Of Thrones broadcaster at £18.5bn.
The deal, which shareholders will still have to vote on, comes five years after the Australian media tycoon’s last tilt at taking full control of the business through News Corporation.
That bid was derailed after the company – which owns the Sun and the Times news- papers – became embroiled in the phone-hacking scandal involving News International.
21st Century Fox said: “The strategic rationale for this combination is clear.
“It creates a global leader in content creation and distribution, enhances our sports and entertainment scale, and gives us unique and leading directto-consumer capabilities and technologies.
“It adds the strength of the Sky brand to our portfolio, including the Fox, National Geographic and Star brands.”
Culture Secretary Karen Bradley has until Christmas to decide whether to refer the deal to watchdog Ofcom.
Labour has raised objections to the takeover, and in an urgent question in the Commons said Prime Minister Theresa May must show she will stand by her promise to stand up to powerful interest groups.