The European Commission Competition Authority has approved unconditionally Sky’s acquisition by 21st Century Fox.
The proposed transaction aims at combining Sky plc (Sky), the UK’s most popular paid-TV operator in Germany, Austria, Ireland, Italy and the UK and 21st Century Fox Inc and entails a limited increase of Sky existing parties on the acquisition of TV content and supply of basic pay-tv channels.
This involves Sky acquiring 100% of the capital of the UK paid TV operator with a transaction of 14.3 billion pounds.
The only hurdle to overcome is the UK antitrust office, which is currently scrutinizing the transaction to protect legitimate interests, such as media plurality. The final decision is expected to be issued on May 16th, whereas the acquisition will be completed by 2017.
