British Regulators to Investigate 21st Century Fox’s Deal for Sky -<br />By PRASHANT S. RAO and AMIE TSANGMARCH 16, 2017<br />LONDON — Britain asked regulators on Thursday to investigate whether 21st Century Fox’s $14.3 billion deal to take full control of the<br />British satellite television giant Sky would give the media mogul Rupert Murdoch too much control over the country’s media landscape.<br />Karen Bradley, Britain’s minister for culture, media and sport, said in a statement to Parliament on Thursday<br />that she had referred the deal to regulators “on the grounds of media plurality and commitment to broadcasting standards.”<br />Ms. Bradley said that although 21st Century Fox had contested her position, “none of the representations<br />have led me to dismiss the concerns I have” regarding public interest issues.<br />“There will be lots of discussions made around whether the commitments made around Sky News are adequate.”<br />In 2011, News Corporation, 21st Century Fox’s predecessor company, made<br />and then withdrew a $12 billion offer for Sky as it was confronted with a controversy over phone hacking by journalists in Britain, which led to one of its newspapers being closed.
