U.K. Government Approves Fox’s Sky Takeover

The British government has cleared 21st Century Fox’s bid to take full control of Sky as the European pay-TV giant mulls a rival bid from Comcast Corporation.

21st Century Fox’s approval to offload Sky News to The Walt Disney Company or an alternative suitable buyer remedies the public interest concerns. “It is now a matter for the Sky shareholders to decide whether to accept 21CF’s bid,” said Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright.

This week, Fox upped its offering price for the shares in Sky it does not already own to £14 per Sky share, an increase of 30 percent on the original £10.75 price and an increase of 12 percent on Comcast’s original £12.50 offer. Yesterday, Comcast came back with another offer, of £14.75 per share, for a total value of $34 billion.

Commenting on the increased offer, Martin Gilbert, deputy chairman of Sky, said, “We have long recognized the unique position that Sky occupies in the European direct-to-consumer landscape and unanimously recommend this offer by Comcast.”