Bidding war for Sky looms as Comcast gatecrashes deal with Fox

US MEDIA giant Comcast has unveiled a formal £22bn offer for Sky, setting the stage for a bidding battle with Rupert Murdoch’s 21st First Century Fox and Walt Disney to snap up the pay-TV group.

Comcast confirmed its bid at £12.50 a share, as first proposed in its approach two months ago, which marks a 16% increase on the £10.75 a share offered by Fox to buy the 61% of Sky is does not already own.

Sky withdrew its recommendation for the £11.7bn Fox deal following Comcast’s offer, but stressed that both bids are “subject to preconditions and neither offer is currently capable of being put to shareholders”. It added its independent committee will “co-operate fully” with both suitors.

The rival bid comes just ahead of a May 1 deadline for the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) to give its final advice on the Fox bid for Sky to Culture Secretary Matt Hancock, who must decide to either approve or block it by the end of May.

Mr Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox said it was “considering its options” but “remains committed to its recommended cash offer for Sky”.

Sky’s shares raced 4% higher as Comcast’s move raises the prospect of a bidding war.

The bid is yet to be given the backing of the Sky board, which is being advised by PJT Partners, but Comcast said it was in talks with the Sky Independent Committee “with a view to obtaining a future recommendation of the acquisition”.

The group added that it plans to agree a raft of legally-binding commitments over Sky and its investment in the UK, in particular for Sky News, and said it would commit to keeping the group’s Osterley headquarters for at least five years.

Comcast chairman and chief executive Brian Roberts said: “With its 23 million retail customers, leading positions in the UK, Italy and Germany, and its history of strong financial performance, we see significant opportunities for growth by combining our businesses.”

He added: “We also understand the role that Sky plays in UK society and in its customers’ lives and we are determined to be responsible and trusted owners of Sky.”

The offer marks yet another twist in the takeover saga, which began in December 2016 when Fox made its latest controversial bid to take full control of the group.