21st Century Fox is selling its 39-percent stake in Sky to Comcast Corporation for\u00a0\u00a311.6 billion ($15.3 billion).<\/p>\n
The move comes after Comcast Corporation outbid Fox to take control of the European pay-TV giant.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe congratulate Comcast on their pending acquisition,” Fox said in a statement. “We are proud of the role our company has played in building Sky, and of the outstanding value we have delivered for shareholders of 21CF and Sky, and customers across Europe. When we launched Sky in 1989 it was four channels produced from a prefab structure in an industrial park on the fringes of west London. We bet\u2014and almost lost\u2014the farm on launching a business that many didn\u2019t think was such a good idea. Today, Sky is Europe\u2019s leading entertainment company and a world-class example of a customer-driven enterprise. This achievement would not have been possible without decades of entrepreneurial risk-taking and the commitment of thousands of colleagues, creators and dreamers. For nearly 30 years we have invested to create a dynamic and exciting business that has produced excellent returns for shareholders and has become one of the most admired companies in Europe. We have provided greater choice and better value for families across Europe, and we have created more than 31,000 jobs across the continent. Today, Sky brings customers better TV than ever before and better entertainment experiences than many ever thought possible. We are grateful to our exceptional colleagues at Sky for creating this unique and outstanding company and wish them continued success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Disney said that the deal will significantly reduce the amount of debt it will incur in acquiring 21st Century Fox.\u00a0\u201cAlong with the net proceeds from the divestiture of the RSNs, the sale of Fox\u2019s Sky holdings will substantially reduce the cost of our overall acquisition and allow us to aggressively invest in building and creating high-quality content for our direct-to-consumer platforms to meet the growing demands of viewers,\u201d said Robert A. Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
21st Century Fox is selling its 39-percent stake in Sky to Comcast Corporation for\u00a0\u00a311.6 billion ($15.3 billion).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[974,1585,91],"class_list":["post-8713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-top-stories","tag-21st-century-fox","tag-comcast-corporation","tag-sky"],"yoast_head":"\n