Jul 13, 2017
Fox-Sky takeover heads for full competition inquiry
Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox has declined to table a new offer to protect the editorial independence of Sky News, almost certainly triggering a full inquiry by the British competition authorities into the US media group's £11.7bn takeover of satellite broadcaster Sky. Multiple people with knowledge of the situation have confirmed that Fox will not be offering a new deal on the future of Sky News, opting instead to let the matter move to the Competition and Markets Authority for a full "Phase 2 inquiry". Mr Murdoch's last bid for Sky in 2011 was approved by the former Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt after News Corp agreed to spin off Sky News into a separate company. Fox has so far stopped short of making a similar offer of structural separation, although Ofcom noted in its report on the takeover that such a solution could pose a long-term threat to the financial sustainability of Sky News. Tom Singlehurst, an analyst at Citi, said that despite the delay of a new inquiry by the CMA, the deal was still likely to be approved.
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