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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Sky bidding war erupts with £22bn formal bid from Comcast [bbc.com]

US cable TV giant Comcast has made a formal £22bn bid for Sky that values the UK broadcaster at £12.50 a share.

The move threatens Rupert Murdoch's attempts to take full control of the pay-TV group. The media mogul's 21st Century Fox has already agreed to buy the 61% of Sky it does not already own - an offer worth about £19bn. Sky said it was withdrawing its recommendation for the Fox bid following Comcast's move.

Sky shares closed 3.4% higher at £13.59 - more than £1 above Comcast's offer, suggesting a bidding war for control of Sky could erupt. Disney, which struck a $66bn deal with Fox [bbc.co.uk] in December to buy most of its entertainment assets, could also make a play for Sky.

Disney's $66 billion deal included Fox's shares of Sky [reuters.com].

See troll: Comcast CEO Brian Roberts: Sky Is a Great Opportunity but Not a 'Necessity' [variety.com]

Also at Bloomberg [bloomberg.com].

Related: Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger [soylentnews.org]

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