Clifford Chance advises BSkyB on GBP 6,600,000,000 acquisition financing for takeover of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland
14 August 2014
Clifford Chance advises BSkyB on GBP 6,600,000,000 acquisition financing for takeover of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland
International law firm Clifford Chance has advised BSkyB in connection with the GBP 6,600,000,000 underwritten debt facilities that will form part of the funding for its acquisition of 100% of Sky Italia and 57.4% of Sky Deutschland from 21st Century Fox.
The deal values Sky Italia at GBP 2,450,000,000 and the 57.4% stake in Sky Deutschland at GBP 2,900,000,000 - with the residual Sky Deutschland shares becoming the subject of a mandatory German public offer. It represents an important strategic development for BSkyB, which expects the enlarged business to become the leading provider in three of Europe's four biggest pay-TV markets.
The debt facilities are underwritten by Barclays Bank PLC, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. – London Branch and Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A..
The Clifford Chance Finance team was led by partner and Global Head of Financial Markets Robert Lee, with support from Senior Associate Alexandra Dimsdale Gill and Associate Julia House.