Allen & Overy has advised 21st Century Fox, Inc on its landmark sale of Sky Italia and its 57.4% stake in Sky Deutschland to BSkyB for a total consideration of USD9.3 billion in cash and assets.

The sale includes approximately USD8.6bn in cash and BSkyB’s 21% stake in National Geographic Channels International, raising 21st Century Fox’s ownership stake to 73%. In addition, 21st Century Fox will participate in BSkyB’s announced equity offering by purchasing approximately USD900 million of additional shares in BSkyB to maintain the company’s 39.1% ownership interest.

The deal will create a pan-European digital television leader through the combination of these assets. The agreement is subject regulatory approvals and the approval of BSkyB shareholders.

The Allen & Overy team advising 21st Century Fox was led by London corporate partners Andrew Ballheimer and Simon Toms, with advice from Oliver Seiler and Hans Diekmann in Germany and Paolo Ghiglione in Italy (working with Duccio Regoli of Mazzoni e Associati). Anti-trust advice was provided by Antonio Bavasso.