A driver of one of London’s iconic cabs helped put Comcast Corp. Chief Executive Brian Roberts en route to bidding $31 billion for U.K. media giant Sky PLC.

On a recent trip to London, Roberts and a colleague hopped in a taxi and talked to its driver about the offerings from Sky and rival Virgin Media, the CEO said this week.

The cable company boss indicated the cabby taught the execs quite a bit:

“ ‘The cab driver was incredibly knowledgeable about the difference between Virgin and Sky in every feature. ... We were learning a lot there.’ ” — Comcast Corp. CEO Brian Roberts reveals part of his big bid’s backstory

The taxi took them to a Westfield mall, where a Sky UK:SKY salesperson demonstrated how the British company’s internet-connected set-top box worked, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

“When we went to the Sky store, we spent at least an hour going through every feature and comparing it to our own,” Roberts said, according to a Reuters report. “We were really terribly impressed.”

Read more:What Comcast’s Sky bid means for Fox and Disney

And see:Comcast takes on Fox with $31 billion bid for Sky

The CEO said the London trip confirmed his instincts that buying Sky could help turn the biggest U.S. cable operator into an international player, the Journal report said.

Comcast CMCSA, -2.51% revealed Tuesday that it was planning a $31 billion offer for Sky, topping a rival bid from 21st Century Fox Inc. FOXA, -3.61% — and moving to peel away one of the most attractive overseas assets that Walt Disney Co. DIS, -2.72% has separately agreed to buy from Fox.

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This story was first published on Feb. 28, 2018.