Andre Yoskowitz
27 Jul 2014 11:44
Pay TV giant BSkyB will pay about $9 billion to purchase 21st Century Fox assets in Germany and Italy, creating an empire that will have over 20 million customers in Europe.
BSkyB will pay in cash, debt, its entire stake in the popular The National Geographic Channel (valued at near $600 million) and also with a stock offering.
The deal adds to Fox's cash hoard as it looks to purchase media giant Time Warner and its prized jewel: HBO. Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch bid $80 billion for Time Warner last month but was rejected in his initial offering.
With the acquisition of Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia, BSkyB will now operate in Britain, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. BSkyB has over 10 million subscribers in Britain, where it offers pay TV, premium sports, movies and even U.S.-based programming.
While Pay TV is a standard in the U.S. and Britain, the rest of Europe has not signed up with similar gusto. Only 30 million of the 97 million households in Germany and Italy currently have Pay TV packages.
Source:
Reuters