Comcast parries Rupert Murdoch's Sky bid with £26bn offer

© EPA Sky may be the limit for Rupert Murdoch who has seen his latest bid not recommended to shareholders by the company’s independent committee. Comcast has moved swiftly to table a £26bn offer to buy Sky, trumping Rupert Murdoch within hours of the media mogul tabling a new £24.5bn offer.

Comcast’s £14.75p a share offer comes within hours of Murdoch making a new £14 a share offer valuing Sky at £24.5bn.

Murdoch moved to up his original bid – of £10.75p a share – ahead of the culture secretary, Jeremy Wright, finally clearing the bid on Thursday.

Murdoch is aiming to takeover the 61% of Sky he doesn’t already own through 21st Century Fox, which owns assets including the Hollywood studio behind films including X-Men and Deadpool.

© Getty Rupert Murdoch Comcast’s first £12.50 a share offer, valuing Sky at £22bn, resulted in Sky’s independent committee recommending shareholders reject Murdoch’s original £10.75 deal tabled in December 2016. His new offer made on Wednesday, at £14.00 a share, once again won over Sky’s independent directors who recommended the new £24.5bn deal.

However, Comcast’s new offer, more than 5% over Murdoch’s latest deal, has won the recommendation of Sky’s independent committee.

“We are please to be announcing a recommended increased offer for Sky today,” said Brian Roberts, chief executive of Comcast. “We have long admired Sky, which we believe is an outstanding company and a great fit with Comcast. We will be posting our offer document to Sky shareholders shortly.”

© Reuters The Comcast NBC logo Martin Gilbert, deputy chairman of Sky, said that Comcast’s offer represent an “attractive premium to the current alternative offer”.

“We have long recognised the unique position that Sky occupies,” said Gilbert. “And unanimously recommend this offer by Comcast.

© Getty Martin Gilbert, deputy chairman of Sky