By Ian Walker
LONDON--British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC (BSY.LN) Wednesday
priced a GBP3.25 billion ($5.25 billion) four-tranche bond issue to
fund the acquisitions of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland (SKYD.XE),
announced in July.
The bonds will be in four tranches in both euros and U.S.
dollars. They will comprise EUR1.5 billion ($1.94 billion) of
senior unsecured notes with a coupon of 1.500%, due 2021; EUR1
billion of senior unsecured notes with a coupon of 2.500%, due
2026; $750 million senior unsecured notes with a coupon of 2.625%,
due 2019; and $1.25 billon senior unsecured notes with a coupon of
3.750%, due 2024.
BSkyB, the leading pay-television operator in the U.K.,
announced on July 25 the acquisitions of its sister companies in
Germany and Italy from 21st Century Fox in a deal worth just over
$9 billion, the majority in cash, to create a pan-European pay-TV
giant with around 20 million customers across Germany, Italy,
Austria, the U.K. and Ireland.
BSkyB said it would buy Fox's 100% stake in the Italian TV
company Sky Italia for GBP2.45 billion, GBP2.09 billion of which in
cash. The U.K. company said it would buy 21st Century Fox's 57.4%
stake in Sky Deutschland AG for GBP2.9 billion in cash, valuing the
German business at EUR6.75 a share.
BSkyB is also offering EUR6.75 a share to Sky Deutschland's
remaining minority shareholders, but BSkyB Chief Financial Officer
Andrew Griffith said at the time the company is "neutral" about
buying out those holders.
BSkyB's biggest shareholder is 21st Century Fox with a 39.1%
stake. 21st Century Fox was until late June part of the same
company as Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires owner News
Corp.
Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com
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