|
Rupert Murdoch's Fox offered 10.75 pounds ($13.52) a share in
cash on Friday in its second attempt to buy the 61 percent of
the business that it does not own, with Sky's independent
directors backing the latest bid.
The shareholder, which declined to be named but said it was one
of Sky's top 50 stakeholders, described the bid as "far too
low".
"We are voting against the deal if it comes out in its current
form and we have told the company as such," the investor said.
"The independent directors have absolutely failed minority
shareholders."
A Sky spokeswoman declined to comment.
The deal would give Fox control of a pay-TV network spanning 22
million households in Britain, Ireland, Austria, Germany and
Italy.
A second shareholder told Britain's Sunday Telegraph newspaper
that Sky's directors should push for more.
It "ought to be the start of the process, not the conclusion",
Alastair Gunn, a fund manager at Jupiter Asset Management, was
quoted as saying.
A representative of the firm was not immediately available for
comment when contacted by Reuters on Sunday.
Analysts at Citi characterized the offer as a "low-ball bid",
citing 13.50 pounds per share as a fair valuation.
Sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters that Fox had
pounced after Britain's vote to leave the European Union in June
sent the pound down about 14 percent against the U.S. dollar and
Sky's share price tumbling.
($1 = 0.7954 pounds)
(Editing by Ros Russell and David Goodman)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
