Murdoch bids for Sky on cheap after Brexit vote

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Aurora13

09-12-2016

Hmm..... what were many of us saying about motives of newspapers.

21st Century Fox in bid approach for Sky

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38267199

Quote:
“Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch controls 21st Century Fox, which already owns a 39.1% stake in Sky.”

Quote:
“Sterling's 16% fall against the US dollar in the wake of the Brexit vote has made UK companies more attractive targets for foreign companies.”

Quote:
“"Sky has not performed well in the UK stock market this year, and is seen as a Brexit loser. Fox is of course also a dollar bidder, and the collapse in sterling makes Sky a less expensive purchase than pre-Brexit," he said.”

Aurora13

09-12-2016

Bloomberg view of deal. Again mentions Brexit.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...pounds-a-share

Quote:
“Murdoch has long made clear his desire to own all of Sky. He was thwarted in a 2010 attempt to buy out other shareholders for 7.8 billion pounds. The proposal was derailed by revelations that two of his newspapers hacked into the mobile phones of celebrities and politicians. Murdoch was bound to take another run at Sky, said Mark Lewis, a lawyer who represented the family of Milly Dowler, a murdered schoolgirl whose hacked phone became a central part of the scandal.

“There are three things in life that are inevitable,” Lewis said. “Death, taxes, and Rupert Murdoch taking over Sky.””

MARTYM8

09-12-2016

I think most people assumed Murdoch already owned it anyway.

I expect we will all survive - and no one forces anyone to have a Sky package.

Aurora13

09-12-2016

Originally Posted by MARTYM8:
“I think most people assumed Murdoch already owned it anyway.

I expect we will all survive - and no one forces anyone to have a Sky package.”

Well he didn't and the plunging of sterling post brexit vote has enabled him to achieve a life long goal owning all of Sky. Fancy that. I'm sure he never even considered it when he was championing Brexit.

Hacker Harrier

09-12-2016

Read: http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showt...p?t=2193207#13

In short, he's offering more cash to shareholders than last time anyway.

HR Guru

09-12-2016

Originally Posted by Hacker Harrier:
“Read: http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showt...p?t=2193207#13

In short, he's offering more cash to shareholders than last time anyway.”

Last time he business didn't include Germany, Austria and Italy

LostFool

10-12-2016

Originally Posted by Hacker Harrier:
“In short, he's offering more cash to shareholders than last time anyway.”

That's how most acquisitions work. Offer them more money until they agree to sell.

I'm not fan of Murdoch but it's hard to get worked up about this deal since in all practical senses he already controls Sky as the largest shareholder

Flubber.

10-12-2016

Apparently 5 years is what it takes to get over a disgusting scandal.

Peter the Great

10-12-2016

Originally Posted by MARTYM8:
“I think most people assumed Murdoch already owned it anyway.

I expect we will all survive - and no one forces anyone to have a Sky package.”

And at least Brexit put an end to all these ruling elites eh?

NilSatisOptimum

10-12-2016

Originally Posted by Peter the Great:
“And at least Brexit put an end to all these ruling elites eh?”

Ruling elites ruling elites, welcome to the matrix..

'The control of information is something the elite always does, particularly in a despotic form of government. Information, knowledge, is power. If you can control information, you can control people'. Tom Clancy.

Ads

10-12-2016

So Brexit has worked fantastically for Murdoch, as he has achieved one of his biggest aims in owning 100% of Sky. His media empire will have even more leverage on politicians in post Brexit Britain, once the EU and that extra layer of legislation is out of the way.

dosanjh1

10-12-2016

Originally Posted by Aurora13:
“Well he didn't and the plunging of sterling post brexit vote has enabled him to achieve a life long goal owning all of Sky. Fancy that. I'm sure he never even considered it when he was championing Brexit.”

Democracy mate, don't you just love it

taurus_67

10-12-2016

Originally Posted by Flubber.:
“Apparently 5 years is what it takes to get over a disgusting scandal.”

yes...and no more pesky Lib-Dems around now to " declare war" on them.

B-29

10-12-2016

Originally Posted by Aurora13:
“Hmm..... what were many of us saying about motives of newspapers.

21st Century Fox in bid approach for Sky

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38267199”

What is political about this exactly ?
Is Sky TV compulsory to pay for like the BBC is if you have a TV or is this just an excuse for the OP to mention Brexit yet again?

MARTYM8

10-12-2016

Originally Posted by B-29:
“What is political about this exactly ?
Is Sky TV compulsory to pay for like the BBC is if you have a TV or is this just an excuse for the OP to mention Brexit yet again?”

Of course everything is the fault of Brexit now

Presumably Murdoch is not the only person who has higher purchasing power in dollars. And people can't be forced to sell their Sky interests if they don't want to.

Maybe the OP would like us to go back to a world of 5 channels. With Sky you can watch hundreds of channels including multiple news channels from Fox News to CNN to Al Jazeera to Russia today and more. If you only get your information from one source you can't really form an objective opinion.

We have more choice thanks to Sky than we have ever got from the BBC and no one forces you to pay for it. And that's thanks to Murdoch and others who helped set it up initially.

LostFool

10-12-2016

Originally Posted by MARTYM8:
“Of course everything is the fault of Brexit now

Presumably Murdoch is not the only person who has higher purchasing power in dollars. And people can't be forced to sell their Sky interests if they don't want to.”

Of course the weaker pound means that it is now more expensive for Sky to buy the rights to US TV shows, movies and international sporting events. That's sure to lead to price rises.

MARTYM8

10-12-2016

Originally Posted by LostFool:
“Of course the weaker pound means that it is now more expensive for Sky to buy the rights to US TV shows, movies and international sporting events. That's sure to lead to price rises.”

Again it's optional.

There is always the BBC with their endless reruns of property porn shows and other cheap daytime tv - Homes under the hammer, Escape to the country, escape down under..There are only so many toilets and dodgy kitchens in cheap flats anyone should be exposed to.

Maybe instead of all of us paying the licence fee they should get the estate agent, DIY store, building and mortgage industry to pay for the BBC.

Frankly I would rather pay a bit more to actually watch some quality tv!

Inkblot

10-12-2016

Originally Posted by MARTYM8:
“
Maybe the OP would like us to go back to a world of 5 channels. With Sky you can watch hundreds of channels including multiple news channels from Fox News to CNN to Al Jazeera to Russia today and more.”

The whole idea of channels is an anachronism. Nowadays you can get almost everything you want to watch by paying the TV Licence for broadcast TV and a bit extra for Netflix or Amazon (or both). You don't need 500 channels, you just need a good choice of content.

The exception, of course, is live sport. If Sky hadn't introduced the idea of paying a hefty premium for live sport we might still be in the dark ages, watching the results on a teleprinter every Saturday afternoon. But those of us who want to watch live football end up paying a very high price for it, and that's down to Sky's power in creating a market where competition pushes prices up, not down.

*Sparkle*

10-12-2016

Originally Posted by taurus_67:
“yes...and no more pesky Lib-Dems around now to " declare war" on them.”

Vince Cable has been speaking out again, and Ed Milliband, but will Corbyn or any of the current top Labour lot make a serious challenge?

The SNP have traditionally supported Murdoch, especially when they attack the BBC, so I expect them to keep noise to a minimum. Certainly nothing that will risk putting an end to their support from the Scottish Sun.

Tanky

10-12-2016

I wonder if the competition commission will step in again?

Mr Oleo Strut

10-12-2016

Originally Posted by Aurora13:
“Hmm..... what were many of us saying about motives of newspapers.

21st Century Fox in bid approach for Sky

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38267199”

Will the paper tigers at Westminster stop him? Don't hold your breath!

Dingbat

10-12-2016

Originally Posted by Ads:
“So Brexit has worked fantastically for Murdoch, as he has achieved one of his biggest aims in owning 100% of Sky. His media empire will have even more leverage on politicians in post Brexit Britain, once the EU and that extra layer of legislation is out of the way.”

Saint Theresa did have a private meeting with him when she went to New York a while back.

Probably to be told what to do next about Brexit.

DinkyDoobie

10-12-2016

How is he bidding for it on the cheap when he has increased his bid by more than 50% since 2010 and his offer is more than what the stocks are currently trading for?

Dacco

10-12-2016

Might it be worth the Lib dumbs offering a deal to stop this and get a few more votes.

Dingbat

10-12-2016

Originally Posted by DinkyDoobie:
“How is he bidding for it on the cheap when he has increased his bid by more than 50% since 2010 and his offer is more than what the stocks are currently trading for?”

Because it now includes Sky's operations in Germany and Italy, which they bought for £5Bn in 2014 from....

Rupert Murdoch.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28479200

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