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Comcast's Sky bid may face less scrutiny; Qualcomm/NXP deal nears China approval

S&P Global Market Intelligence provides a wrap-up of European media and communications deal announcements, completions and updates from May 21 to May 26.

TOP NEWS

* Comcast Corp.'s offer to buy Sky PLC may not face the same regulatory scrutiny in the U.K. as 21st Century Fox Inc.'s own proposed takeover of the entity, Matt Hancock, Britain's government secretary for media, said in a statement. Hancock said Comcast's offer does not "raise concerns in relation to public-interest considerations which would meet the threshold for intervention," Variety reported May 21. Hancock said he plans to reach a "final decision on whether to intervene in the merger shortly." In February, Comcast made a takeover bid of £12.50 per share for Sky, valuing the British pay TV giant at about £22 billion, directly challenging the offer of £10.75 per Sky share by Fox.

* Qualcomm Inc. is close to sealing Chinese regulatory approval for its $44 billion takeover of Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV after the U.S. government said it would lift export restrictions on Chinese telecom company ZTE Corp., the Financial Times reported May 26. Approval would remove the last hurdle for a deal that has been stuck for months amid U.S.-China trade tensions. The Wall Street Journal reported that China's State Administration for Market Regulation, which has been conducting an antitrust review of the proposed deal, is scheduled to meet May 28 to discuss the matter.

M&A media

* Eleven Sports Network Ltd. is selling a "significant stake" in its Polish unit Eleven Sports Network Sp zoo to Cyfrowy Polsat SA's broadcasting unit Telewizja Polsat Sp zoo, according to a May 24 news release. The deal values Eleven Sports Poland at an enterprise value of about €80 million.

* Accenture PLC agreed to acquire Shanghai-based digital marketing agency HO Communication. The latter will be the latest addition to the Accenture Interactive portfolio in Greater China. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

* Modern Times Group AB said May 23 that it purchased all outstanding shares it does not own in Zoom.in Group BV, which operates online video content publisher Zoomin.TV, for €6.2 million in cash. MTG previously had a 51% stake in Zoomin and has acquired the remaining shares from Adversa Media Groep BV.

* TF1 Group filed a draft of a takeover bid for the remaining capital of auFeminin.com at a price of €39.47 per share, Challenges reported May 22. TF1 purchased almost 80% of Aufeminin from Axel Springer SE in April.

M&A communications

* A group of lenders are set to take majority control of Türk Telekomünikasyon AS via Turkish holding company Otas, which owns 55% of the telco, Reuters reported May 23. The lenders have agreed on the takeover as part of a restructuring plan.

* Russian national operator Rostelecom PJSC acquired information security services provider Solar Security OOO for 1.5 billion rubles, Telecompaper reported May 23. Following the acquisition, Rostelecom plans to create a national cybersecurity center that will rely on Solar Security's expertise.

* Funds advised by U.K. private equity firm Apax Partners LLP agreed to sell their ownership stake in GlobalLogic Inc. to Partners Group Holding AG in a deal that values the software development firm at more than $2 billion. In a statement, Apax said the Switzerland-based Partners Group will become an equal shareholder with existing investor Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, or CPPIB, following the acquisition. Apax sold 48% of its equity stake in GlobalLogic to CPPIB in April 2017. GlobalLogic employs 12,000 people and creates digital products, including next-generation cloud platforms and mobile and web applications.

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