Sky to seek full ownership of Sky Deutschland

UK pay-television broadcaster Sky is set to increase its shareholding in Sky Deutschland, which operates in Germany and Austria, to 100 per cent in the coming weeks.

Sky’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Sky German Holdings, last month increased its stake in Sky Deutschland to 95.8 per cent.

Sky will now initiate the necessary steps for the transfer of the remaining minority shareholdings in Sky Deutschland to take full ownership of the broadcaster, which covers a variety of major sports properties.

In November, BSkyB announced that it would be renamed Sky after completing a takeover of Sky Italia in Italy and acquiring a majority stake in Sky Deutschland.

The deal brought together leading sports broadcaster in three of Europe’s four largest pay-television markets.