Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has been given the go ahead by the British Government for its bid to take over the media company BSkyB. The approval follows the corporations agreement to set up Sky News as an independent company, however rival companies, such as the Guardian, Trinity Mirror and the Telegraph, have dismissed the news and claim they will "vigorously contest" it.
Murdoch's company already owns 39% of the media company as well as British newspapers The Sun, The News of the World and The Times. News Corp. has been seeking to secure the remaining 61% for a while now but has been blocked by the Competition Commission on multiple occasions.
The Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, claims he will accept the offer and not refer it on, however Ofcom, the media watchdog, does not agree and wants the deal sent to the commission for investigation.
When asked about his decision Mr Hunt told the BBC that he was "very, very conscious that people are suspicious of politicians' motives" and that he had consulted Ofcom and the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) before he reached his choice.
"Ofcom assured me that News Corp's undertaking addressed its concerns about media plurality."
News Corporation said it has welcomed the decision, however the opposition government has expressed concerns. "This U-turn by Jeremy Hunt will raise further concerns about the transparency of the process. Four weeks ago, he was minded to refer the deal to the Competition Commission. Now he has changed his mind," stated the shadow culture secretary.
The current offer of each share at 850p values the remaining 61% of the company at around £9.1bn, this is a large increase on the previous offer of 700p a share last year.
27 Comments - Add comment