Fox Takeover of Sky Hits Snag as U.K. Provisionally Rejects Deal
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U.K. regulators dealt a setback to 21st Century Fox’s planned 11.7 billion-pound ($16.3 billion) takeover of Sky, saying the deal would give Rupert Murdoch too much control over the country’s media.
Fox’s bid to buy the European pay-TV broadcaster wouldn’t be in the public interest, the Competition and Markets Authority said in provisional findings Tuesday in which it called for the companies to offer remedies. Sky shares jumped as much 3.7 percent, however, after the regulator dismissed concerns about the separate issue of broadcasting standards.
While the decision is another impediment for the Murdochs, the lack of concern over broadcasting standards was welcomed by Fox after myriad regulatory delays and a furor over sexual harassment allegations at Fox News in the U.S. With a 39.1 percent stake in Sky, Fox has agreed to sell the London-based broadcaster on to Walt Disney Co. as part of a a $52.4 billion merger revealed last month. If the Fox-Sky deal isn’t completed, Disney will only pick up Fox’s existing holding in Sky.
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