21st Century Fox to sell 39% stake in Sky after Comcast wins bidding war

Fox is disposing of its stake in Sky (REUTERS)

21st Century Fox plans to sell its 39 per cent stake in Sky to Comcast, following the firm’s winning bid for the broadcaster in a takeover auction held last weekend.

The Rupert Murdoch-owned company said in a statement on Wednesday: “In light of the premium Comcast has agreed to pay for Sky, we and Disney have decided to sell 21CF’s existing 39 per cent holding in Sky to Comcast. We congratulate Comcast on their pending acquisition."

Comcast won out in a day-long auction overseen by Britain's Takeover Panel on Saturday, bringing a long-running bidding war to a close with its offer of £30bn.

Sky’s independent directors unanimously recommended that the offer be accepted immediately.

The US company said in a statement on Wednesday: “In light of the premium Comcast has agreed to pay for Sky, we and Disney have decided to sell 21CF’s existing 39 per cent holding in Sky to Comcast. We congratulate Comcast on their pending acquisition.

“When we launched Sky in 1989 it was four channels produced from a prefab structure in an industrial park on the fringes of west London. We bet - and almost lost - the farm on launching a business that many didn’t think was such a good idea. Today, Sky is Europe’s leading entertainment company and a world-class example of a customer-driven enterprise.

“This achievement would not have been possible without decades of entrepreneurial risk-taking and the commitment of thousands of colleagues, creators and dreamers.”

Disney, which is buying 21CF’s entertainment assets in a $71bn (£54bn) deal, has consented to 21CF’s decision to either accept the Comcast offer in respect of 21CF’s existing stake or sell its existing stake to Comcast.

Comcast’s offer values 21CF’s existing shareholding in Sky at £11.6bn.