BSkyB Rebuffs News Corp. Takeover Offer, Seeking Higher Price
British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC is open to the idea of News Corp. (NWS) buying up a full 100 percent of the company, but not at the currently offered price.
News Corp. is offering £7.8 billion, or about $11.5 billion, for the 61% stake of the U.K. satellite-television company that it doesn’t already own. A committee of independent directors, which has the power to reject or approve an offer, said the proposed price significantly undervalues the company. It added that after taking advice from Morgan Stanley (MS) and UBS AG (UBS), it would support an offer of over 800 pence a share.
News Corp.’s 700 pence-a-share offer, which isn’t formal, had been raised from a 675 pence-a-share proposal it made last week.
