Comcast sends out bankers to woo City on Sky bid

Comcast put Bank of America Merrill Lynch to work on Wednesday, asking it to gauge City appetite for its Sky bid.

The giant US cable company is keen to woo Sky shareholders, believing it could take control of the company even if Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox holds onto its 39% stake.

BAML has been hired by Comcast to start a charm offensive, even as chief executive Brian Roberts flew home.

Sky shares rose again this morning, up 8p at 1340p. That values the business at fully £1 billion more than the Comcast £12.50-a-share offer.

With the City salivating at the prospect of a bidding war, analysts at Jefferies said the stock could be worth £16. That’s the price Sky investors “should hold out for, in our view” said Jefferies. Analyst Jerry Dellis says there are “credible prospects” that Comcast’s offer to Sky will be countered by Fox and Disney.

Comcast — whose subsidiary Dreamworks is responsible for such blockbusters as Madagascar (above) — has yet to make a formal offer and could, presumably, tweak it in light of what it hears from BAML.

Media analysts expect that Disney, in the process of buying Fox, won’t want to let Sky slip away. It is thought likely to ask Fox to increase its own £10.75-a-share bid for Sky, with Disney ultimately absorbing that cost.