Key BSkyB investors reported to be holding out for 900p a share

Two important investors in UK pay-TV provider BSkyB have declared against selling out to News Corp even if it were to make a bid of 800p a share, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey, who owns a 3% stake in the company, said that Sky would be undervalued even at 800p (€0.96) a share. Stephen Adams, a fund manager at insurance group Aegon, another investor in the company, told the newspaper that News Corp needed to raise its bid to 900p a share to acquire the 61% of the company it did not already own.

Yesterday, BSkyB’s independent directors, led by Nicholas Ferguson, rejected News Corp’s upgraded 700p a share for the company but said they could recommend a price of 800p. However, BSkyB and News Corp struck an agreement to move forward with securing regulatory approval for a merger.