Fox proposes selling Sky News to Disney

Murdoch seeks to win UK approval to take control of Sky

Rupert Murdoch has stepped up the pressure on Britain to approve his $14.5 billion bid for Sky by offering to sell or legally separate Sky News, seeking to allay concerns about the 87-year-old mogul's political influence.

Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox said on Tuesday Sky News could be sold on to U.S. rival Walt Disney Co or become a legally separate business within the Sky group.

Fox agreed in December 2016 to buy the 61 percent of European pay-TV group Sky it does not already own, but the deal has been repeatedly delayed by the UK government and regulators.

Fox had already promised that Sky's 24-hour news service would remain independent under the ultimate control of Murdoch, but critics, including some high-profile politicians, remain adamantly opposed due to Murdoch's record of influence through owning the Sun and the Times newspapers.

The delay enabled U.S. cable giant Comcast Corp to gatecrash the deal in February by saying it would offer 12.50 pounds a share to buy Sky, compared with Fox's 10.75 pounds - although it has not yet made a formal bid.

As the Sky deal remained in regulatory limbo, Fox separately agreed to sell a string of assets, including its 39 percent stake in Sky, to Disney, potentially taking Murdoch out of the Sky equation.

Fox said on Tuesday its new concessions went beyond the steps that Britain's media regulator Ofcom said would mitigate concerns about Murdoch's influence.

The company, however, needs to persuade another regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), and the government.

"We have worked diligently with the CMA throughout its extensive review," it said.

"In fact, we believe that the enhanced firewall

remedies we proposed to safeguard the editorial independence of Sky News addressed comprehensively and constructively the CMA's provisional concerns."

Fox said it could legally separate Sky News within the wider Sky group, so it would operate independently with guaranteed funding for 15 years.

Alternatively, it said Disney had expressed an interest in acquiring the 24-hour news channel, whether or not Disney's proposed acquisition of Twenty-First Century Fox went ahead.