Comcast Makes $31 Billion Offer for Sky

Comcast Corporation has made an offer of $31 billion to buy Sky, challenging the bid from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox.

Comcast’s “superior cash proposal” of £12.50 ($17.50) per share represents a 16 percent increase in value over the existing 21st Century Fox offer for Sky.

“We think Sky is an outstanding company,” said Brian L. Roberts, the chairman and CEO of Comcast Corporation. “It has 23 million customers and leading positions in the U.K., Italy and Germany. Sky has been a consistent innovator in its use of technology to deliver a fantastic viewing experience and has a proud record of investment in news and programming. It has great people and a very strong and capable management team.”

Roberts added, “Comcast intends to use Sky as a platform for growth in Europe. We already have a strong presence in London through our NBCUniversal international operations, and we intend to maintain Sky’s U.K. headquarters. Adding Sky to the Comcast family of businesses will increase our international revenues from 9 percent to 25 percent of company revenues.”