Comcast extends deadline for Sky shareholders to accept £26bn offer
Comcast has extended the deadline for Sky investors to accept its £26bn offer to buyout the company, a statement revealed last night.
Shareholders now have until 12 September to green light the US media company's 14.75 per share offer. It follows 0.2 per cent of Sky investors giving their consent by the previous deadline yesterday.
Most of Sky's shareholder base are waiting on 21st Century Fox to improve its £24.5bn bid. Fox and Comcast both have until 22 September to raise their offers.
Sky this morning noted Comcast's decision to extend the offer timetable.
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The battle for prized media asset Sky took another turn earlier this month when Fox filed its offer document, holding its £14 per share bid, essentially buying it more time to make a decision on upping its offer.
Importantly, it also tweaked the nature of the deal, so that Fox, which already owns a 39 per cent stake in Sky, would launch a conventional bid for the company.
Previously, the bid was constructed under a "scheme of arrangement", which would have required cooperation from Sky's board.
Additionally, Fox will now only need a simple majority to takeover the company, including its own holdings. Though it has set a minimum threshold for a takeover at 75 per cent of shares, Fox reserved the right to lower this to make it easier to secure the company.
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