The green light has been given by the EU Competition Authorities for the full acquisition of Sky plc by 21st Century Fox. 21st Century Fox already owns 39.1% of Sky. The acquisition, which was agreed last December, has also been referred to Ofcom by the UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Karen Bradley. The UK regulator now has eight weeks to decide whether the acquisition can go ahead. Ofcom is due to report back to the Secretary of State by 16th May.
According to Reuters, the bid is worth £11.7bn ($14.5bn), and approval from the European Commission was expected as they cleared the previous bid in 2010 when News Corporation attempted to take full control of Sky. That deal fell through then due to the News of the Word phone hacking scandal. Ofcom’s decision on whether 21st Century Fox is fit and proper for media takeovers, may be affected by speculation concerning sexual harassment at Fox News.
