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The US entertainment giant Comcast surprised global stock markets on Tuesday with a £22 billion ($30 billion) bid for Sky, Rupert Murdoch's European pay-TV giant.
Murdoch, who owns 39% of Sky through 21st Century Fox, has beentrying to take full control of Sky and now faces a rival offer. The bid could throw a wrench in the works for Fox's $54 billion deal with Disney to sell assorted media assets, which included Sky.
Comcast, led by CEO Brian Roberts, has offered £12.50 a share for Sky, but shares in the London-listed business were trading at £13.39 by early afternoon in London, suggesting investors believe a bidding war will now heat up.
That bidding war could pit three of the most powerful men in the media business against one another: Murdoch, Roberts, and Bob Iger, with some analysts now suggesting Disney could make a bid. Here's our story.
In related news, a tiny three-partner boutique scored a key role on Comcast's Sky bid. And in other deal news, more than 50 tech startups could IPO this year. Bank of America's top tech banker told us two key reasons for the boom.
In markets news, the new Fed chair just made his first public statements - and traders don't like what they heard.
"What we've seen is incoming data that suggests a strengthening in the economy," Jerome Powell told members of the House Financial Services Committee.
His rosy outlook was enough to prompt markets to become nervous about the prospect of four rather than three rate rises this year. Stocks veered lower, while yields on the 10-year Treasury note, which move opposite to its price, climbed to 2.9%. The US dollar jumped by 0.56% against a basket of major currencies.
Elsewhere in markets news:
- One of the market's most outspoken bears is getting destroyed as he waits for a crash
- Goldman Sachs has identified the stocks poised to crush the market thanks to tax cuts
- Hedge funds did something highly unusual during the market's recent meltdown - and it's a great sign for stocks
- Morgan Stanley just issued a new market outlook that defies both Goldman Sachs and Warren Buffett
- MACQUARIE: Capitalism is dead and finance has become a 'poison' - and there are 3 ways this era will end
And in crypto news:
- A top Coinbase exec explains the master plan to turn the $1.6 billion cryptocurrency exchange into the next Google
- Messaging app Telegram says it'll offer investors a refund if its ICO flops - but there's a catch
- Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak said he was scammed out of $70,000 in bitcoin
- The self-proclaimed founder of bitcoin is being sued for billions in stolen bitcoin
- Goldman Sachs investment chief: Bitcoin is definitely a bubble, Ethereum even more so