LONDON (Alliance News) - Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday placed the Baa2 senior unsecured debt and (P)Baa2 senior unsecured MTN program ratings for UK pay-TV operator Sky PLC and its finance subsidiary, Sky Group Finance PLC, on review for upgrade.
The review for upgrade follows the announcement that Comcast Corp was the winner of the auction arranged by the UK Takeover Panel for Sky, with a final offer of GBP17.28 per share, valuing Sky at close to GBP30 billion. The offer was accepted and recommended immediately by Sky's independent board.
The auction outcome concluded a protracted process which commenced in 2016 with a formal offer from Twenty-First Century Fox Inc for the 60.9% of Sky it does not own.
Moody's expects that Comcast will achieve the minimum 50.1% it requires to control Sky and that the acquisition will close in October 2018. Fox, itself the subject of a bid by Walt Disney Co is assessing its options for the 39.1% of Sky that it owns.
"We are placing Sky's ratings on review for upgrade because it will now become a strategic part of the larger Comcast group, which is rated two notches higher than Sky. The final equity stake that Comcast will own in Sky and any explicit support that Comcast may provide to Sky's debtholders are uncertain at this point," said Moody's Vice President Colin Vittery.
Shares in Sky were trading broadly flat at 1,727.00 pence each.
