Prisoners’ trilemma

14 June 2018 By Liam Proud Follow @liamwardproud

Comcast’s $65 bln offer for Rupert Murdoch’s group raises the stakes in the battle for the UK broadcaster. Even if the U.S. cable giant snags Fox, rival Walt Disney might pursue Sky to avoid coming away empty-handed. The risk for shareholders is that the bidders strike a truce.

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Comcast on June 13 offered to buy Twenty-First Century Fox's entertainment and international assets for $65 billion in cash, or $35 per share.

The offer tops a bid from Walt Disney, which agreed to buy the same assets for $52.4 billion in an all-stock deal on Dec. 14.

Fox shareholders are expected to vote on the Disney proposal on July 10.

Britain on June 5 cleared Twenty-First Century Fox’s bid to buy the 61 percent of Sky it doesn’t own, on the condition that Sky News is sold to Walt Disney or an alternative buyer.

Comcast has launched a separate cash offer of $31 billion for Sky, the UK-based satellite broadcaster in which Fox owns a 39 percent stake. Britain’s Media Secretary has said he will not intervene on that bid.

Sky shares were up 0.3 percent at 0728 GMT on June 14.

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