UK Takeover Panel rules Disney must pay £14 a share for Sky

The UK Takeover Panel has confirmed that Disney would be obliged to pay £14 (€15.70) a share to take control of the remaining part of Sky that 21^st Century Fox does not own. if 21^st Century Fox fails to gain to control of the operator before the completion of Disney’s acquisition of Fox’s entertainment business.

The panel has ruled that, following the amended agreement between Disney and Fox in June, the the price payable by Disney under its obligatory chain principle offer to the holders of ordinary shares in Sky following completion of the Acquisition would be £14 for each ordinary share in Sky.

Under UK takeover rules, Disney will be obliged to make an offer for Sky shares within 28 days of completing its acquisition of Fox’s assets. The chain principle offer rule will not apply if Fox takes 100% control of Sky or if Comcast or another party acquires over 50% of the pay TV outfit’s shares ahead of completion of the Fox-Disney agreement.

The Takeover Panel’s ruling follows Fox’s formalising its £14 a share offer for the 61% of Sky it does not already own to shareholders last week.

Sky’s offer, which failed to top Comcast’s recommended £14.75 a share bid for the pay TV operator, took the form of a public offer rather than the ‘scheme of arrangement’ it had agreed with Sky previously.