21st Century Fox Finalizes $14.8 Billion Sky Takeover Offer

Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. has formally reached an agreement with Sky PLC for a total takeover to the tune of $14.8 billion. Of course, Sky’s shareholders and the British government still have something to say about the deal.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Sky shareholders will be entitled to receive £10.75 in cash per share, which represents a pretty healthy premium of 40 percent above December 6, 2016’s closing price. The independent Sky committee intends to recommend unanimously that unaffiliated Sky shareholders vote in favor of the deal. So maybe that one part won’t be a hurdle at all.

Fox currently anticipates that the acquisition will complete before the end of 2017. If not, Sky shareholders will get a special dividend in 2018. The U.K. company will not pay any dividends in 2017.

The final offer is $700 million more than the initial one.

Also Read: 21st Century Fox Agrees to Purchase Sky for $14.1 Billion

Commenting on the acquisition, 21st Century Fox said:
“As the founding shareholder of Sky, we are proud to have participated in its growth and development. The strategic rationale for this combination is clear. It creates a global leader in content creation and distribution, enhances our sports and entertainment scale, and gives us unique and leading direct-to-consumer capabilities and technologies. It adds the strength of the Sky brand to our portfolio, including the Fox, National Geographic and Star brands.”

“Sky is a creative, commercial, and consumer powerhouse delivering its own content to customers across all platforms. Sky is the No. 1 pay TV brand in all its key markets, with an exciting growth runway in each. The enhanced capabilities of the combined company will be underpinned by a more geographically diverse and stable revenue base. It will also create an improved balance between subscription, affiliate fee, advertising and content revenues. This combination creates an agile organization that is equipped to better succeed in a global market.”

To provide financing for the deal, 21st Century Fox entered into a Bridge Credit Agreement with Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners. The Bridge Credit Agreement provides for borrowings of up to £12.2 billion.

10 Biggest Billion-Dollar Entertainment Deals in 2016 (Photos)

Media and entertainment dealmakers returned in full force this year after a quiet 2015, as there were nine mergers and acquisitions valued at more than $1 billion -- from Chinese buyers such as the Dalian Wanda Group to AT&T, which agreed to acquire Time Warner for $85 billion. Here's a rundown of the biggest.
Various
10. Disney buys a minority stake in BAMTech

Price tag: $1 billion

In August, the Mouse House announced that it paid $1 billion for a 33 percent stake in streaming video technology company BAMTech, which was spun off from Major League Baseball’s MLB Advanced Media. Disney plans to use BAMTech’s technology to launch a standalone ESPN streaming service – but without the same content as linear ESPN.
Disney
9. Dalian Wanda Group buys Dick Clark Productions

Price tag: $1 billion

The real estate and entertainment conglomerate owned by China’s richest man continues to snap up showbiz companies by the billion, acquiring the Golden Globes and American Music Awards producer for a cool $1 billion earlier this month.
Dick Clark Productions
8. Rovi acquires TiVo

Price tag: $1.1 billion

Video technology firm Rovi Corp., bought the pioneering live-TV recording tech company for $1.1 billion in a deal that was finalized in September. After the deal was complete, Rovi adopted the better-known TiVo name.
Getty Images
7. AMC Theatres buys Carmike Cinemas

Price tag: $1.2 billion

Wanda-owned AMC Theatres acquired Carmike, the U.S.’ fourth-largest exhibitor, forming the biggest theater chain in the country with more than 600 theaters. That surpasses Regal Entertainment, which operates 565 locations.
AMC/Carmike
6. AMC Theatres buys Odeon & UCI Cinemas

Price tag: $1.2 billion

AMC also added Odeon & UCI Cinemas, Europe's biggest chain, to its ever-expanding suite of cinemas. AMC will rename the company to Odeon Cinemas Group and maintain its London headquarters.
AMC/Odeon & UCI
5. Dalian Wanda Group buys Legendary Entertainment

Price tag: $3.5 billion

Wanda was responsible for the first megadeal of 2016, when it acquired the “Jurassic World” production company for $3.5 billion. Legendary lost $500 million in 2015, but its action-packed fare such as “Warcraft” is popular in China’s fast-growing movie market.
Legendary/Wanda
4. Comcast's NBCUniversal buys DreamWorks

Price tag: $3.8 billion

The blowout success of animated films like “Zootopia” and “Finding Dory” was one of the stories of 2016, and NBCU doubled down on the genre by adding the “Kung Fu Panda” and “Shrek” studio to its fold.
DreamWorks
3. Lionsgate merges with Starz

Price tag: $4.4 billion

The “Hunger Games” studio and premium cable channel announced their merger plans in June, a year after telecom billionaire and major Starz shareholder John Malone bought a stake in Lionsgate. Starz will become an independently run subsidiary of Lionsgate once the deal is officially approved.
Lionsgate/Starz
2. Verizon buys Yahoo

Price tag: $4.8 billion – or maybe less

The embattled Internet 1.0 company finally found its lifeboat, selling its core business to Verizon for $4.8 billion in July, eight years after rejecting a $45 billion bid from Microsoft. But after the extent of Yahoo’s 2014 hack was revealed, Verizon was pushing for a $1 billion discount, and has been taking a second look at the deal.
Verizon/Yahoo
1. AT&T agrees to acquire Time Warner

Price tag: $85.4 billion

AT&T agreed to buy Time Warner, combining two century-old companies to create a content and distribution powerhouse in the biggest media deal since the ill-fated 2000 AOL-Time Warner merger. One caveat: Donald Trump, who has been an outspoken critic of Time Warner’s CNN, had threatened to block the deal. However, a Wall Street-friendly Republican Congress could provide a smoother path.
AT&T/Time Warner

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Rewind 2016: From China’s Dalian Wanda Group to AT&T, deep-pocketed buyers were chasing content all year

Media and entertainment dealmakers returned in full force this year after a quiet 2015, as there were nine mergers and acquisitions valued at more than $1 billion -- from Chinese buyers such as the Dalian Wanda Group to AT&T, which agreed to acquire Time Warner for $85 billion. Here's a rundown of the biggest.

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10 Biggest Billion-Dollar Entertainment Deals in 2016 (Photos)

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