Sky is the limit

25 April 2018 By Jennifer Saba Follow @jennifersaba

Boss Brian Roberts says the cable company is open to acquisitions and he won’t use stock. But how he pays is less important than what he pays. Challenging Disney’s $66 bln deal for parts of Rupert Murdoch’s empire would be an expensive fight. Roberts is better off walking away.

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Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts said on an April 25 earnings call Comcast is unlikely to use shares as an acquisition currency. “I don’t see us using stock at these levels, period.”

Earlier Comcast said it submitted an all-cash bid of $31 billion for European pay-TV group Sky, confirming a tentative offer in February. Comcast’s offer tops Twenty-First Century Fox’s bid to buy the rest of Sky it doesn’t own by about 16 percent. Fox holds a 39 percent stake in Sky.

Walt Disney agreed to buy Fox’s entertainment and international assets, including its stake in Sky, for $52.4 billion, or $66.1 billion including debt.

Comcast shares were up almost 3 percent to $34.19 in midday trading on April 25. Year-to-date, the shares have declined about 17 percent.

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