Elliott Management Discloses Stake in Sky
27 Gennaio 2018 - 1:17AM
Dow Jones News
By Stu Woo
LONDON -- Hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. disclosed in a
regulatory filing Friday that it had taken a 1.09% stake in Sky
PLC, which could further complicate 21st Century Fox Inc.'s $16.6
billion effort to consolidate ownership of the British pay-TV
giant.
Elliott, founded by Paul Singer, is known for its activist
campaigns against giant companies, and for getting involved in
deals and holding them up to get the price bumped. It was unclear
whether the fund was taking an active or passive position in
Sky.
An Elliott spokeswoman and Sky spokesman didn't immediately
return requests for comment Friday night. A Fox spokesman declined
to comment.
Elliott's disclosure comes as Fox tries to wrap up its latest
attempt to buy the 61% of Sky it doesn't already own. Fox launched
the bid in December 2016, but regulatory delays have stalled the
deal. Most recently, British regulators in a preliminary ruling on
Tuesday suggested that Fox would need to make concessions to win
government approval.
That comes as Walt Disney Co. tries to buy major Fox assets,
including its 39% stake in Sky, which it eyes as one of deal's
jewels.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his family are major shareholders
in Fox and in News Corp, publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
Fox has said it expects its acquisition of Sky to close by June.
British regulators are expected to deliver final recommendations in
May to the British government, which would then decide to approve
the deal outright, approve it with conditions or reject it.
If the government approves the deal, then Fox's offer must win
support from at least 75% of Sky shareholders, excluding Fox's
stake. Some shareholders have argued that Fox's offer, of GBP10.75
($15.23) per share, was too low.
Sky stock closed at GBP10.48 a share on Friday, indicating some
uncertainty that Fox's deal would be successful.
Ben Dummett contributed to this article.
Write to Stu Woo at Stu.Woo@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 26, 2018 19:02 ET (00:02 GMT)
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