MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS – GREAT BRITAIN

REA makes $9b play for UK property platform

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 17 : 3-Sep-24

News Corporation-backed online property listings company REA Group told investors on Monday that it is considering making a takeover bid for UK property platform Rightmove, noting clear similarities between the two companies. Rightmove is currently worth Stg4.4 billion ($8.5 billion), suggesting that any bid by REA Group would need to be worth at least $9 billion. Commenting on the prospect of a bid for Rightmove by REA Group, Morningstar analyst Roy van Keulen said it could be viewed as an attempt by REA to stave off a future international competitor.

CORPORATES
REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, RIGHTMOVE.CO.UK LIMITED, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

BHP runs down clock on $64b Anglo deadline

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 21-May-24

The UK’s Takeovers Code requires BHP to make a formal and binding takeover offer for Anglo American by 22 May. However, there is now a high probability that BHP will abandon its proposed bid, given that the target has rejected BHP’s improved offer of 0.8132 of its share for every Anglo American share. Meanwhile, media reports in the UK have indicated that two major Anglo American shareholders are willing to accept a simpler offer from BHP that does not involve breaking up the company.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC

Murdoch and conservative rivals circle Spectator and Telegraph

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Original article by Thomas Seal, Sabah Meddings, Alex Wickham
The Age – Page: Online : 15-Jun-23

News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch could be among the potential bidders for the UK’s The Telegraph newspaper and The Spectator magazine. They have been put on the market after the holding company for the two publications was placed in receivership earlier in June. Sources have indicated that Murdoch made an offer of about Stg50 million ($93 million) for The Spectator two years ago, and he is said to have long desired owing the 195-year-old magazine. However, a Murdoch bid for The Telegraph may face antitrust concerns and political opposition. Other potential contenders for The Spectator are said to include Paul Marshall, the co-founder of hedge fund Marshall Wace, while the Daily Mail & General Trust is seen as a possible buyer of The Telegraph.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MARSHALL WACE LLP, DAILY MAIL AND GENERAL TRUST PLC

How the Murdochs lost the fight for Sky

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Original article by Christopher Williams
The Australian Financial Review – Page: R1 & R6 : 31-May-19

The Murdoch family first tried to take full control of Sky in the UK in 2011 through News Corporation, but the attempt was unsuccessful. James Murdoch made another attempt to secure full control of Sky in 2016, this time through Fox. In announcing the bid, Murdoch expressed confidence that it would be approved by regulators within six months. Britain’s Culture Secretary Karen Bradley initially referred the bid to Ofcom, before referring it to the Competition & Markets Authority in September 2017. At around that time, Rupert Murdoch was in the process of putting together a mega media deal that would eventually end up with Comcast rather than Fox securing control of Sky.

CORPORATES
SKY PLC, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, GREAT BRITAIN. DEPT OF CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT, GREAT BRITAIN. COMPETITION AND MARKETS AUTHORITY, GREAT BRITAIN. OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS, COMCAST CORPORATION

Comcast outbids Fox and Walt Disney Co. with $40-billion offer for Europe’s Sky TV

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Original article by Meg James
Los Angeles Times – Page: Online : 22-Sep-18

The independent directors of pan-European satellite broadcaster Sky plc have endorsed Comcast’s successful bid in a corporate auction that was organised by the UK’s Takeovers Panel. Comcast offered $US22.75 per share for Sky, valuing its bid at nearly $US40bn. The rival bid from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox – which has a 39 per cent stake in Sky – was $US20.63 per share, which equates to about $US35bn. The auction followed a protracted bidding war for Sky, and Fox’s deal to sell the bulk of its entertainment assets to Walt Disney Company.

CORPORATES
SKY PLC, COMCAST CORPORATION, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, GREAT BRITAIN. THE TAKEOVER PANEL, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL, HULU LLC

Comcast sees Fox and raises in fight for Sky

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Original article by Keach Hagey, Chip Cummins, Ben Dummett
The Australian – Page: 21 : 13-Jul-18

US media group Comcast has trumped 21st Century Fox’s revised takeover offer for pay-TV company Sky. Comcast raised its offer for Sky from Stg12.50 to Stg14.75 per share in response to Fox’s recent move to increase its own offer to Stg14.00 per share. Sources have indicated that Comcast could potentially opt to focus on its bid for Sky rather than press ahead with its $US65bn cash bid for Fox’s entertainment assets.

CORPORATES
COMCAST CORPORATION, SKY PLC, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, GREAT BRITAIN. THE TAKEOVER PANEL, NBC UNIVERSAL INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Fox dangles $44bn carrot for Sky buyout

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 20 : 12-Jul-18

US media giant 21st Century Fox has increased its cash offer for UK-based pay-TV group Sky to Stg14 per share, trumping the rival cash bid of Stg12.50 per share from Comcast. Fox had initially offered Stg10.75 per share in late 2016, and the revised offer values Sky at Stg24.5bn ($43.8bn). Fox already has a 39 per cent stake in Sky, and it says the target’s independent directors have recommended that shareholders accept the revised offer.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, SKY PLC, COMCAST CORPORATION, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Latest Sky complication upsets Murdoch plans

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Original article by Jennifer Duke
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 26 : 1-Mar-18

Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox had aimed to finalise the acquisition of British pay-TV group Sky by mid-2018. Murdoch would then complete the $US52.4bn ($A65.9bn) deal to sell most of Fox’s assets to Walt Disney Company, including Sky. However, these deals are in doubt in the wake of Comcast’s Stg22.1bn ($A39.4bn) bid for Sky. Comcast’s offer is compelling at Stg12.50 per share, compared with Fox’s offer of just Stg10.75. The Comcast deal is also likely to meet with less resistance from Britain’s competition regulators than Fox’s bid for Sky.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, SKY PLC, COMCAST CORPORATION, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, NBC UNIVERSAL INCORPORATED, UNIVERSAL PICTURES, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, ODEY ASSET MANAGEMENT LLP, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Comcast takes on Fox, Disney with £22.1 billion bid for Sky

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Original article by Joe Mayes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 28-Feb-18

US media giant Comcast is offering Stg12.50 per share for British pay-TV company Sky. Sky’s shares peaked at Stg13.55 in response to the Stg22.1bn ($A39.5bn) bid. Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox had previously offered Stg10.75 per share to assume full ownership of Sky. The Comcast bid also has implications for Walt Disney Company’s deal to acquire the bulk of Fox’s assets, including its stake in Sky. Fox had rejected Comcast’s offer in late 2017 to buy most of its assets for $US60bn in favour of the deal with Disney.

CORPORATES
COMCAST CORPORATION, SKY PLC, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, ODEY ASSET MANAGEMENT LLP, NBC UNIVERSAL INCORPORATED, JEFFERIES AND COMPANY, ENDERS ANALYSIS LIMITED

Comcast takes on Fox, Disney with £22.1 billion bid for Sky

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Original article by Joe Mayes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 28-Feb-18

US media giant Comcast is offering Stg12.50 per share for British pay-TV company Sky. Sky’s shares peaked at Stg13.55 in response to the Stg22.1bn ($A39.5bn) bid. Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox had previously offered Stg10.75 per share to assume full ownership of Sky. The Comcast bid also has implications for Walt Disney Company’s deal to acquire the bulk of Fox’s assets, including its stake in Sky. Fox had rejected Comcast’s offer in late 2017 to buy most of its assets for $US60bn in favour of the deal with Disney.

CORPORATES
COMCAST CORPORATION, SKY PLC, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, ODEY ASSET MANAGEMENT LLP, NBC UNIVERSAL INCORPORATED, JEFFERIES AND COMPANY, ENDERS ANALYSIS LIMITED