Comcast Corporation, the victor in the US$40-billion auction for Sky PLC, said on Tuesday it had bought more than 30 per cent of the European pay-TV group’s shares in the market.
Crossing the 30-per-cent threshold means that the U.S. cable company must offer to buy out other investors at the formal offer price of £17.28 a share, valuing Sky at around £30.6-billion pounds, or US$40.2-billion.
That knockout Comcast bid beat a £15.67 offer from Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. in a rare auction held over the weekend.
Shares in Comcast, owner of Universal Pictures Ltd. and the NBC network, fell on Monday on concerns about how much the company had paid to clinch the deal.
Fox holds a 39-per-cent stake in Sky, stemming from Mr. Murdoch’s role in its creation nearly three decades ago, which it is selling to The Walt Disney Company as part of a separate deal.
Neither Fox nor Disney have said what they intend to do with the stake.
Comcast’s winning bid quickly received the backing of Sky independent directors on Saturday. They said Comcast’s offer was "materially superior” to Fox’s, and they urged shareholders to accept it immediately.
Comcast said it was seeking to make further market purchases of Sky shares at a price of £17.28 a share.
Sky’s shares were trading at £17.27 in early deals on Tuesday.
Comcast needs 50 per cent of the stock plus one share to complete its takeover. It is hoping to wrap up the deal by the end of next month.