Comcast Corp has emerged as the top bidder for European broadcaster Sky PLC after a rare auction held by British regulators.
After three rounds of secret bidding on Friday and Saturday, Comcast offered the higher price of £17.28 (US$22.59) per share for Sky, the equivalent of nearly £30 billion. Rival 21st Century Fox Inc offered £15.67 per share.
In a statement, Sky recommended that shareholders accept Comcast’s offer and sell their shares immediately.
“Sky is a wonderful company with a great platform, tremendous brand and accomplished management team,” Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said in a statement. “This acquisition will allow us to quickly, efficiently and meaningfully increase our customer base and expand internationally.”
Philadelphia-based Comcast is one of the largest cable television providers in the US. About 29 million customers get cable television, Internet access and other services from Comcast.
The UK regulator, the Takeover Panel, set up the auction to reduce uncertainty for Sky after months of offers and counteroffers from the US media giants.
Sky is Europe’s largest pay-TV operator, with 22.5 million customers in seven countries and popular programming including English Premier League soccer and Game of Thrones.
Fox owns 39 percent of Sky. It must now decide whether to sell its stake or remain a minority shareholder.
Comcast’s winning bid came at a steep price. Comcast initially made a US$31 billion bid for Sky in February last year, then raised that bid to US$34 billion in July this year.
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