Comcast offers $34 billion for Sky, topping Murdoch’s bid

Latest twist in an international acquisition tussle that also includes Walt Disney Co.

LONDON— Comcast Corp. increased its takeover bid for Sky Plc to $45 million, topping an offer from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox Inc. and escalating a global standoff between the media giants.

Comcast, the largest U.S. cable company, is now offering £14.75 ($25.67 Canadian) a share for Sky, valuing Britain’s top pay- TV provider at £26 billion, according to a statement Wednesday. That’s 5.4 per cent above a £14-a-share proposal from Fox, which already owns a stake in the European broadcaster.

The move is the latest twist in an international tussle that also includes Walt Disney Co. Both Comcast and Disney have been vying to acquire Fox’s entertainment assets — a contest that will affect the Sky bidding war. Comcast, which offered £12.50 a share previously, said the sweetened bid won the backing of Sky’s independent directors and that it has lined up financing. Fox acknowledged the increased bid in a statement late Wednesday.

“There is a possibility Comcast puts a lot of chips backing its Sky bid and is less aggressive in its pursuit of Fox,” said Paul Sweeney, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. The cable giant may “just want international scale.”

Comcast is still assessing its options on the other Fox assets it’s seeking, people familiar with the situation said, and has to consider the role the U.K. takeover agency plays in the bidding. If Comcast also raises its Fox bid, British regulators could demand the company also increase its offer for Sky, based on a rule known as the chain principle. Murdoch currently has a deal to sell Fox’s entertainment assets to Disney, including its 39 per cent Sky stake, with his shareholders scheduled to vote on July 27. Murdoch’s higher bid for Sky earlier Wednesday put pressure on Comcast chief executive officer Brian Roberts to come back with a higher price.

Comcast has been expected to abandon its bid for Fox and focus instead on winning Sky, according to Jonathan Chaplin, an analyst at New Street Research LLC. “Of all the assets in the Fox portfolio, they probably view Sky as the most strategically important,” he said earlier.