Sky bid battle talk sends broadcaster's shares up

Growing chances of a bid battle for Sky sent shares in the football to Game of Thrones broadcaster on the up on Thursday

While 21st Century Fox talks to Disney about selling its entertainment and international assets — including its 39% stake in Sky — to Disney, Comcast is also increasingly in the frame.

The US cable giant wants to expand in Europe and sees Sky’s technology as superior to other pay-TV providers, reports Bloomberg.

Sky shares moved up 20p, 2%, to 1008p.

That’s still well shy of the £10.75 offer Fox has made for the 61% of Sky shares it doesn’t own, indicating City scepticism that the deal will get the nod.

Yesterday the Competition and Markets Authority delayed by a month its decision on that £11.7 billion deal to mid-January.

The CMA said: “It is not unusual for us to update our timetables. In this case, we have received a large body of evidence — including numerous face-to-face hearings and more than 12,000 submissions — so it is vital that we spend the time to reach an informed and considered provisional view.”