Please wait...
Please wait...

Shareholders back Sky Europe plans

Shareholders in UK satcaster BSkyB have approved the firm’s bid to acquire Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox.

BSkyB agreed to buy out Fox’s stakes in the Italian and German pay TV businesses in July and the European Commission gave the deal the green light in September.

Now 96% of independent BSkyB shareholders have approved the move. Rupert Murdoch’s Fox, which holds a 39% stake in the satcaster, did not get a vote on the acquisition as a related party.

The deal sees BSkyB paying £2.07bn (US$4.34bn) in cash plus its 21% stake in National Geographic Channel for all of Sky Italia, and £2.9bn for a 57.4% stake in Sky Deutschland.

BSkyB has been buying up the remaining shares in the German business but some shareholders have rejected the sum offered, claiming it “significantly understates” the value of the business. However, BSkyB will be able to steer the German firm’s operations through its majority stake.

The enlarged multinational ‘Sky Europe’ will serve an estimated 20 million subscribers. The satcaster hopes the move will allow it to make further in-roads into the European pay market, which stands at more than 97 million households across the three countries.

RELATED ARTICLES

Please wait...