Comcast raises bid for Sky to $34 billion, tops Fox's offer - Sensationalist Headlines

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sky-m-a-fox/comcast-raises-bid-for-sky-to-34-billion-tops-foxs-offer-idUSKBN1K10KU?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+(News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News) LONDON (Reuters) - Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) on Wednesday raised its all-cash offer for Britain’s Sky (SKYB.L) to $34 billion, topping a raised bid of $32.5 billion for the pay-TV group from Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox (FOXA.O). Fox, which has been trying to buy the pan-European group since December 2016, offered to pay 14 pounds per share, a 12 percent premium to Comcast’s earlier offer. Comcast on Wednesday increased its cash offer to 14.75 pounds per share. Sky shares closed at 15.15 pounds. Comcast said its cash offer has been recommended by Sky’s independent committee of directors. The U.S. cable group gatecrashed Murdoch’s attempt to buy the 61 percent of Sky his group did not already own in February, when Fox was still firmly stuck in the regulatory process. Comcast and Walt Disney (DIS.N) are locked in a separate $70 billion-plus battle to buy most of Fox’s assets, which would include Sky. Disney secured conditional U.S. approval to buy the assets last month, giving it an edge over Comcast’s bid. Hong Kong-based hedge fund Case Equity Partners, a Sky investor, said the fact Disney was in a slightly more favourable position for Fox’s U.S. media assets meant Comcast would fight even harder to get Sky. “Today’s Fox bid is unlikely to be the end game as we see a final Sky deal outcome at well over 15 pounds per share,” said managing partner Michael Wegener. The British government is expected to finally allow Fox, which is run by Rupert’s son James, to buy Sky this week, after the U.S. group agreed to sell Sky’s award-winning news channel to Disney to prevent Murdoch from owning too much of the British media. Murdoch had previously tried to buy Sky in 2011 when a phone hacking scandal at his News of the World tabloid sparked a political backlash over his role in Britain. The opposition has not completely subsided despite the plan to spin off Sky News. “There are enough sub-plots in the race to acquire Sky to commission a primetime drama,” Salmon said.

Can't wait for the megacorporation dystopia!

Good to see Comcast putting all that money to good use, buying up and consolidating media companies, instead of building out fiber internet infrastructure! fuck Comcast.

Seriously, what ever happened to anti-trust laws? It wasn't that long ago that we broke up one of the major telecomms, AT&T iirc, but then they just started consolidating again. We need to break up more conglomerates, and this time, we need to actually enforce it.

Reaganomics happened, and now megacorporations are a good thing because the wealth will trickle down.

Corporations effectively bought our government with campaign donations, none of our officals are going to invoke any anti-trust laws.

"You offered 34 billion dollars? Well we're offering 34 billion and one dollars!" A reasonable strategy for Fox to top Comcast's offer.

Comcast is desperate to get anything they can. "We can outbid Disney!" "Ohh fuck wait no we totally can't!" "Well we need something!"

you could just erase the entire national debt of serbia w/ 7 billion left over

There would need to be publicized instances of severe market position or human rights abuses by companies to get the public and gov against conglomerates. We need a new Jungle.