21st Century Fox £18.5 billion acquisition of Sky

Overview:

• 21st Century Fox has made a bid to acquire the 61% stake it doesn't already own in Sky for £18.5 billion.
• The offer is still subject to approval by Sky's current shareholders who would receive £10.75 for each share under the terms of the deal.
• 21st Century Fox is the founding shareholder of Sky and this combination will create a global leader in content creation and distribution as well as enhance the firm's sports and entertainment scale. 
• The acquirer entered into a bridge credit agreement with Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Deutsche Bank Securities and JPMorgan Chase Bank to finance the acquisition. 
• Deutsche Bank is acting as financial adviser to 21st Century Fox.
• The acquisition is expected to complete before the end of 2017.
• Rupert Murdoch (Fox's owner) had previously made an attempt to acquire the company in 2011, but the bid was derailed by the UK phone hacking scandal.

Anna Kozakova - Journalist