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Fox-Sky deal likely to be referred to Ofcom

The British government is likely to refer Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox planned takeover of Sky to Ofcom, to see whether the deal is in the public interest.

According to Reuters, Murdoch has informed the European Commission of its £11.7 billion offer to buy the remaining 61% of the share it currently does not hold in Sky. This is now expected to result in political inputs from various parties.

Meanwhile, Culture Media Secretary, Karen Bradley is said to be intervene to see if Fox’s takeover in British media was in the interest of the public.

In a statement, Bradley said, “I have, today, written to the parties to inform them that I am ‘minded to’ issue a European intervention notice on the basis that I have concerns that there may be public interest considerations.”

She added, “To be clear – I have not taken a final decision on intervention at this stage. In line with the guidance that applies to my quasi-judicial role I am inviting written representations from the parties and will aim to come to a final decision on whether to intervene in the merger within 10 working days of today’s notification.”

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