Mar 1, 2017
Sky takeover by Fox to be lodged for European approval
Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox will ask Brussels to approve its £11.7bn bid to take full control of Sky as early as this week, marking the next step in the politically contentious battle for the UK based pay-TV broadcaster. Ofcom is already facing calls from a group of cross-party politicians to launch an immediate review of whether Mr Murdoch's youngest son James, who is Sky chairman and chief executive of Fox, meets the "Fit and proper" test to hold a UK broadcasting licence. AT&T's $85.4bn bid for Time Warner - which is still subject to US regulatory approval - and Fox's bid for Sky are part of a wider shift in the media business as the big groups look to consolidate in the face of growing digital competition. Fox announced in December its offer for the 61 per cent of Sky that the group does not already own in a deal that values the UK-based group at £18.5bn. Margrethe Vestager, Europe's competition chief, will have nearly a month to make a preliminary decision on the deal. The watchdog approved Fox's creation of a joint venture to produce and distribute content with Apollo Management and separately allowed Sky's acquisition of Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia.
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