Outfoxed

Comcast Hijacks Murdoch’s Sky Takeover Bid With Bigger Offer

Fox had already agreed to a deal—but now it’s in jeopardy.

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s bid to take over Sky has been dealt a blow by a bigger offer from U.S. cable provider Comcast. Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox had already agreed to a $26 billion deal to buy the 61 percent of remaining Sky stock that the company didn’t already own—but late on Monday a fresh $31 billion bid was made by Comcast, which said it wanted to use Sky as a platform to spread its content and influence into Europe. The completion of Murdoch’s deal has been delayed by concerns over his influence in the U.K., where Sky is headquartered. Sky’s shares jumped more than 18 percent after the announcement of the Comcast bid, with CEO Brian L. Roberts saying: “Sky and Comcast are a perfect fit: We are both leaders in creating and distributing content. We think Sky is an outstanding company.“ He added: “We would like to own the whole of Sky and we will be looking to acquire over 50 percent of the Sky shares.”