Comcast Moves Closer To Securing £30.6B Takeover Of Sky

Comcast took a "significant step" toward securing its £30.6B ($40.3B) takeover of Sky after buying more than 30% of the pay-TV group’s shares, according to Simon Duke of the LONDON TIMES. The U.S.'s largest cable provider needs more than 50% of Sky’s stock to "seize control" and "has been busy acquiring shares on the stock market since a dramatic weekend auction." Many of the hedge funds that "piled into Sky" during the takeover battle between Comcast and 21st Century Fox "appear to have cashed in their bets." American hedge funds Elliott and Baupost, as well as Mayfair-based investor Odey Asset Management, "are among those to have profited from the surge in Sky’s share price" (LONDON TIMES, 9/26). REUTERS' Paul Sandle reported Fox said on Wednesday that it would sell its 39% stake in Sky to Comcast. 21st Century Fox "had agreed to sell its stake in Sky" to Disney as part of a separate deal (REUTERS, 9/26).