Disney and Fox Can Keep Comcast Guessing With Sky Maneuver

  • Company has to formally launch offer to investors on Thursday
  • Fox has been vying with Comcast to acquire U.K. carrier
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Comcast Corp.’s $34 billion bid for Sky Plc is putting pressure on 21st Century Fox Inc. to make a higher offer for the U.K. pay-TV provider. But Fox and its partner, Walt Disney Co., have a way to keep their options open while staying in the hunt for Sky a while longer.

Fox, which is selling its 39 percent Sky stake to Disney, has to officially make its 14-pound-a share offer to other investors in the U.K. company by Thursday. But it can submit the paperwork without topping Comcast’s 14.75 pound-a-share bid, setting off a 46-day bidding period under U.K. law.