21st Century Fox Offers To Buy Sky Plc For £10.75/shr In Cash

(RTTNews) - Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (FOX, FOXA) confirmed On Friday that it reached an agreement in principle in relation to a possible offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares in Sky plc (BSY.L, SKY.L) it does not already own at a price of 10.75 pounds per share payable in cash less the value of any dividends subsequently paid by Sky. The cash offer reportedly values Sky about $14 billion.

However, certain material offer terms remain under discussion and the Possible Offer may or may not lead to an offer being made by 21st Century Fox.

21st Century Fox noted that the Independent Directors of Sky have indicated to 21st Century Fox that they are willing to recommend the Possible Offer, subject to reaching agreement on the other terms and conditions of any offer.

Separately, Sky said it received an approach from 21st Century Fox. After a period of negotiation, the Independent Directors of Sky and 21st Century Fox reached agreement on an offer price of 10.75 pounds per share in cash, less the value of any dividends subsequently paid by Sky.

The Proposal represents a premium of 40% to the closing price on 6th December, being the last business day prior to the initial proposal being received from 21st Century Fox, and a premium of 36% to the closing price on 8th December, being the last business day prior to this announcement.

21st Century said, "In the past several years, 21st Century Fox has consistently stated that its existing 39.1% stake in Sky is not a natural end position. A proposed transaction between 21st Century Fox and Sky would bring together 21st Century Fox's global content business with Sky's world-class direct-to-consumer capabilities, which have made it the number one premium pay-TV provider in all its markets."

There can be no certainty that any offer or transaction will proceed.

As per the U.K rule, 21st Century Fox is required, by not later than 5.00 p.m. on January 06, 2017, to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Sky or announce that it does not intend to make an offer. This deadline can be extended with the consent of the Panel.