Comcast Corp. 'A-/A-2' Ratings Affirmed On Win Of Sky Auction; Outlook Negative

Following an auction held by the U.K.'s Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, the Sky plc independent board announced that it recommends global telecom conglomerate Comcast Corp.'s bid of £17.28 per share. Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.'s bid of £15.67 per share was deemed inferior to the Comcast bid. Comcast has until Oct. 11, 2018 to get a majority of Sky shareholders to tender their shares to Comcast in order to consummate the acquisition. We are affirming our ratings on Comcast, including the 'A-' long-term issuer credit rating, 'A-2' short-term issuer credit rating, and 'A-' issue rating. Although we believe that Comcast is able and willing to return leverage to below 3x within two years of the transaction closing, the negative outlook

...+ Following an auction held by the U.K.'s Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, the Sky plc independent board announced that it recommends global telecom conglomerate Comcast Corp.'s bid of ú17.28 per share. Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.'s bid of ú15.67 per share was deemed inferior to the Comcast bid. + Comcast has until Oct. 11, 2018 to get a majority of Sky shareholders to tender their shares to Comcast in order to consummate the acquisition. + We are affirming our ratings on Comcast, including the 'A-' long-term issuer credit rating, 'A-2' short-term issuer credit rating, and 'A-' issue rating. + Although we believe that Comcast is able and willing to return leverage to below 3x within two years of the transaction closing, the negative outlook reflects the relatively long path to achieve the deleveraging and the risk of unforeseen events, such as changes in the macroeconomic environment, operational challenges or further debt-financed transactions, that could occur over that time. NEW YORK...

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