Comcast (CMCSA.O), the victor in the auction for Sky (SKYB.L) on Saturday, said on Tuesday it had bought 29.1 per cent of the European pay-TV group’s shares in the market.
Comcast bid 17.28 pounds ($22.66) a share for Sky, beating a 15.67 pound offer from Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox (FOXA.O). Fox holds a 39 per cent stake in Sky, which it is selling to Walt Disney (DIS.N) as part of a separate deal.
Comcast said it was seeking to make further market purchases of Sky shares at a price of 17.28 per share.
It needs 50 per cent of the stock plus one share to complete its takeover.