Taking the Mickey

26 July 2018 By Liam Proud Follow @liamwardproud

Shares in the UK pay-TV group have sunk since Comcast ceded Fox to the House of Mouse. Investors may think that means Magic Kingdom boss Bob Iger will not bid for Sky, which Comcast also wants. He would be missing out on a prize business, or a cheap opportunity to hurt a rival.

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Sky on July 26 said revenue in the financial year to end-June was 13.6 billion pounds, 5 percent higher than a year earlier excluding currency fluctuations.

The British pay-TV group’s EBITDA was 2.3 billion pounds, up 9 percent year-on-year. Sky said its services are now in 23 million households, and reach 120 million people.

U.S. cable group Comcast said on July 19 that it does not intend to pursue its interest in certain media assets of Twenty-First Century Fox, which Fox has agreed to sell to Walt Disney for $71 billion in cash and stock.

Comcast will instead focus on its recommended cash offer for Sky of 14.75 pounds per share. Its bid values the company at 26 billion pounds ($34 billion).

Fox, which controls Sky with a 39 percent stake, has also made an offer for the shares it doesn’t own, worth 14 pounds per share.

Disney’s bid for Fox assets, which includes the stake in Sky, will be voted on by shareholders on July 27.

Sky shares were trading at 15.14 pounds at 0740 GMT on July 26.

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