Sky shareholders looking for dividend if News Corp acquisition fails

Major BSkyB independent shareholders expect a dividend of up to £2.5 billion (€2.85 billion) if News Corp fails to produce an offer to acquire the pay TV operator that satisfies them, according to a report in the Telegraph newspaper.

The report follows comments made by News Corp chief operating officer Chase Carey last week that the company was not prepared to overpay and that its 700p a share offer last year was line with the company’s performance, and represented a significant premium to comparable cable and satellite pay TV ventures.

Fund manager Fidelity has argued that 950p represents fair value for the company, while other investors including Black Rock, Aegon Asset Management, Odey Asset Management, Taconic Capital Advisers and Schroder Investment Management are also pushing for a higher offer from News Corp.

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