Originally Posted by
mistaTea
Yes, very reluctantly. Plans foiled by those pesky things called 'shareholders'.
Management will take to the grave that pursuing MW was the right call. I actually do agree with them that they should explore uses for the funds before returning capital to shareholders. Ideally, we only want cash returned (be it buybacks or cash distribution) if Sky cannot use the money to generate a superior ROIC, future proof the business etc.
That very good principle doesn't mean you rush out and buy any old thing for the sake of using the cash. Paying any amount of money for a debt-riddled MW was always going to be a tough sell - and some of the numbers touted by various media outlets was truly eye watering!
Anyway, commonsense did prevai in the end - and now we just want to move forward. Hopefully the Board will be inclided to be a little more generous than they otherwise would have to quall disgrunted shareholders.
It is my understanding that The Board now have Sophie on a very tight leash.
It will also be interesting to see how sharehoklders vote with regards to the reappointment of Chairman Philip Bowman and Joan Withers. If their dividend and capital return is too light, it may generate another shareholder revolt.