Sky share price: Company weighs bid for Formula One

Sky Plc (LON:SKY) and Liberty Global are weighing offers for a £4.5-billion controlling stake in Formula One, owned by private equity firm CVC, The Sunday Times has reported.

According to the paper,RSE Ventures, a company launched by the owner of the Miami Dolphins American football team, Stephen Ross, last week teamed up with Qatar Sports Investments to work on a joint bid for the motor-racing series. However the paper noted that the RSE-Qatari team is just one of several buyers in contact with CVC.
The newspaper cited unnamed City sources,who claim Sky and Liberty held informal talks with the private equity firm about a deal. Lawrence Stroll, the Canadian fashion mogul, has also been linked with a bid.
CVC owns a 35.5-percent interest in Formula One, which due to special voting rights is a controlling stake in the sport. The company paid £1.2 billion in 2006 to acquire the stake and is expected to make five times its original investment when it sells out.CVC has hired Goldman Sachs to act as consultant on the matter, The Sunday Times said.
A deal on Formula One would be a significant boon for Sky, which has recently seen its traditional dominance in football coverage challenged by BT Group Plc (LON:BT.A).
In today’s trading, Sky shares were down two percent at 1,045.00p, as of 08:16 BST. The stock has risen 16.1 percent since the start of the year, boosting the company’s market capitalisation to nearly £18 billion.
The 26 analysts offering 12 month price targets for Sky have a median target of 992.50p, with a high estimate of 1,350p and a low estimate of 530.00p. As of June 26, 2015, the consensus forecast amongst 28 polled investment analysts covering Sky had it that investors should hold their position in the company. The same consensus estimate has been maintained since January 12, 2012, when the sentiment of investment analysts deteriorated from “outperform”.
As of 11:14 BST, Monday, 29 June, Sky Plc share price is 1,052.50p.