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Bloomberg
21st Century Fox Inc. cleared one hurdle by winning unconditional European Union approval for its 11.7 billion-pound ($14.5 billion) bid for Sky Plc as investor uncertainty over the deal grows amid fresh allegations of harassment at Fox News.
The European Commission said it saw no competition problems with Fox’s bid to buy the rest of Sky that it doesn’t already own, according to an emailed statement. The two companies compete “only to a limited extent†in acquiring television content and providing pay-TV channels.
The deal may face a tougher test from UK media regulator Ofcom which will decide whether the takeover breaches British rules on media plurality and broadcasting standards. Ofcom must also decide whether Sky would continue to be a “fit and proper†holder of a broadcast license following the Fox takeover. It will report back to the UK government by May 16, leaving a final decision on whether to block the deal with Culture Minister Karen Bradley.
That probe could be swayed by new allegations reported by the New York Times on April 1, saying five women have received payments totaling about $13 million from either Fox or television host Bill O’Reilly in exchange for agreeing not to sue or talk about their accusations against him. The Times’ story revealed that two settlements came after Fox News’ former chairman, Roger Ailes, left the company last summer following a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former host Gretchen Carlson.
Sky’s stock has fallen 3.5 percent in the last month and currently trades at a 11 percent discount to Fox’s offer price. The EU unconditionally cleared a News Corp. takeover of Sky in 2010, which was later abandoned in an outcry over revelations of News Corp. phone hacking. British merger regulators didn’t ask for jurisdiction over either deal.