Competition Commission called on bid for BSkyB
MARKET regulator Ofcom has recommended a full Competition Commission enquiry into the approach for British Sky Broadcasting by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp should take place, according to reports.
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport received the regulator’s report on the impact on media plurality the £7.5bn deal could have on the 31 December last year.
Yet the Whitehall department has yet to publicly announce the findings, or any action on the report, however speculation yesterday suggested culture secretary Jeremy Hunt had passed the report to the Competition Commission.
Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch had bid to buy the shares in BSkyB that News Corp does not already own, in a deal that valued the broadcaster at roughly £12bn.
Business secretary Vince Cable was stripped of the power to adjudicate on the News Corp takeover, after he claimed to have “declared war” on Murdoch in an undercover interview. Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt was handed the power to decide.