Watchdog ready to investigate £11.7bn Murdoch deal for Sky
THE UK’S competition watchdog looks poised to launch an indepth investigation into Rupert Murdoch’s £11.7bn swoop for Sky after Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said she was “minded” to refer the bid for further scrutiny.
Speaking in the Commons, Ms Bradley said an Ofcom report found that the attempt by Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox to acquire the 61 per cent of Sky it does not already own risks handing the tycoon’s family “increased influence” over the UK’s news agenda and the political process.
Ofcom told the Secretary of State that the takeover attempt raised “public interest concerns” and she could refer the deal to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for a fuller investigation on the grounds of media plurality.
Ms Bradley told MPs: “Ofcom’s report states that the proposed transaction would give the Murdoch Family Trust material influence over news providers with a significant presence across all key platforms.
“This potentially raises public interest concerns because, in Ofcom’s view, the transaction may increase members of the Murdoch Family Trust’s ability to influence the overall news agenda and their ability to influence the political process and it may also result in the perception of increased influence.
“These are clear grounds whereby a referral to a phase two investigation is warranted – so that is what I am minded to do.”
Ms Bradley said Sky and Fox could make representations to her before she reaches a final decision, with a deadline of July 14.
However, she was “minded not to refer” the bid to a phase two investigation in relation to a “genuine commitment to broadcasting standards”.
Her comments came as Ofcom said the merger would not stop Sky from holding a broadcasting licence, despite concerns over “significant failings” in the corporate culture at Fox News.
Mr Murdoch’s bid comes five years after his last attempt at taking the business over through News Corporation in 2011.
The tilt faced opposition from media industry rivals and politicians before it was scuppered by acute pressure on the company brought about by phone-hacking claims involving News International.
Responding to Ms Bradley, 21st Century Fox said it was “disappointed” by the announcement. FORMER CHANCELLOR George Osborne has scooped his sixth job since leaving politics, with an unpaid appointment as honorary professor of economics at the University of Manchester.
Mr Osborne, who stepped down from Parliament at this month’s election, is also editor of the newspaper, an adviser to investment management firm BlackRock, chairman of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, a fellow at US think-tank the McCain Institute and makes lucrative after-dinner speeches around the world for the Washington Speakers Bureau.
The appointment comes at a time when the university is cutting 171 jobs in a move which unions said was “at direct odds” with the goal of Mr Osborne’s Northern Partnership to boost the economy of the north of England.
A university spokesman confirmed that governors agreed in May to open consultation with unions over “reductions of up to 171 posts”.