The government has finally given Rupert Murdoch clearance to take over Sky as the media mogul mulls a £26bn-plus bid to try to see off rival Comcast.
The new culture secretary, Jeremy Wright, has given Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox the green light to buy the 61% of Sky he does not already own after a final consultation on plans to make him sell Sky News to reduce his control of UK news media.
Murdoch must also top up any potential shortfall in funding by Sky News’s new owner, which will be Disney if he can successfully take control of Sky, to keep its budget at £100m for the next 15 years.
Wright, who has only been in place a few days, said he was confirming the undertakings his predecessor Matt Hancock had decided needed to be put in place.
“I am content to confirm this position,” Wright said in a written ministerial statement. “It is right that Ofcom, the Competition Markets Authority and my department have taken such care in ensuring the bid is properly and effectively scrutinised. It is now a matter for the Sky shareholders to decide whether to accept [a Fox] bid.”
While Murdoch will be pleased to finally receive clearance after 19 months of regulatory scrutiny, he is locked in a bidding war with the US cable company Comcast that could still derail his ambition to take over Sky that stretches back to a first ill-fated attempt almost a decade ago.
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
