Crispin Odey, the former son-in-law of Rupert Murdoch, "has rejected BSkyB’s offer to buy the shares of Sky Deutschland," according to Ashley Armstrong of the London TELEGRAPH.
Last week, BSkyB revealed an agreement to pay up to £7.4B ($12.5B) "to buy Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox."
Under the plans Fox "would sell its controlling" 57% stake in Sky Deutschland to BSkyB for £2.9B ($4.9B). However, this price "has been snubbed" by Odey, one of Britain’s most successful fund managers, who said that he "does not intend to tender its shares in this proposed offer." Odey said that while Sky Deutschland "was already an expensive stock, he believed that it was 'undervalued on a three year basis' as there was significant growth in the German TV market." Sky Deutschland "is the biggest player in Germany, which is the largest market in Europe" (TELEGRAPH, 7/29). In London, Alex Spence reported BSkyB "was confident that opposition from minority investors will not affect its ambitions to create a European pay-TV giant by taking over its Italian and German sister companies." BSkyB said that "its plans were not dependent on gaining full control of Sky Deutschland" (LONDON TIMES, 7/30). Also in London, Mark Sweney reported when BSkyB’s plans to create a pan-European pay-TV giant first emerged in May, Odey said that "he believed the deal was not sweet enough." With a majority stake in the German business, it "can control decision making by being able to select who sits on the supervisory board" (GUARDIAN, 7/30).
