Sky plc battle: 21st Century Fox files papers for £24.5bn takeover

The current battle for Sky plc has taken another significant turn as 21st Century Fox recently posted its offer document.

Two companies - 21st Century Fox and Comcast - are offering huge values of money to take control of Sky plc. They have until September 22, 2018 to win.

The move has, subsequently, meant there could be limited time on the offer from Fox for Sky. Fox, which currently owns a 39.1 per cent stake in Sky, supposedly did not increase its current £14-a-share offer.

It has been said that Fox tweaked the way in which its offer has been constructed. Prior to this, the company had been planning on taking control of the giant through a ‘Scheme of Arrangement’, however Fox is now going to try for control via ‘conventional takeover’.

Meanwhile, Comcast has said it would be satisfied with a majority of Sky’s shares - meaning that it could take control with 50 per cent of the shares plus one further share.

But Fox has insisted that it reserved the right to reduce its acceptance condition from 75 per cent of all shares owned by other investors to a simple majority - which would include its existing 39.1 per cent stake.

It is said that Comcast is currently in pole position. The company raised its offering to £26bn in total, just hours after Fox tabled its latest offer in July.

Fox is currently in the process of selling its entertainment assets, including a shareholding in Sky and the Hollywood studio behind popular films like the X-Men and Avatar.

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