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Fox takeover of Sky cleared by European regulator

Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox takeover of Sky has got closer after the European competition regulator gave it the green signal.

The proposed £11.7bn bid for Sky was under scrutiny after rivals expressed concerns that the broadcasters would dominate flagship programming across its networks.

The European commission said, “Based on the results of its market investigation, the Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would raise no competition concerns. Fox and Sky are mainly active in different markets in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the UK. They compete with each other only to a limited extent, mainly in the acquisition of TV content and in the wholesale supply of basic pay-TV channels.”

In response to this, Fox said, “21st Century Fox welcomes today’s decision by the European commission clearing unconditionally its proposed transaction to acquire the outstanding shares of Sky that it does not already own. We now look forward to continuing to work with UK authorities and are confident that the proposed transaction will be approved following a thorough review process.”

Ofcom will report back to Karen Bradley, the Culture Secretary by 16th May.