BSkyB boosted by News Corp bid tale

BSkyB shares have moved sharply higher as speculation went round the market that Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation was considering taking the satellite broadcaster private.

It climbed as high as 597.5p before slipping back to 583.5p as traders cast doubt on the tale. This is still a 14p or 2.46% gain on the day so far, however, and more than 8m shares have changed hands so far, compared to a recent average of around 4m for the whole day.

The story causing all the excitement was that News Corporation - which owns around 39% - was thinking of offering around 735p a share for the remaining stake. BSkyB refused to speculate and News Corp said it would not "comment on talk in the marketplace". Traders were not convinced, with some suggesting it may well be just a typical end-of-the-week story - a "bit of Friday fun" - which came to nothing. One said:

I can't really see any reason for it. They [News Corp] have got a controlling interest already, why would they need to buy the rest?

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