Fox Proposing Disney Buy of Sky News to Alleviate UK Regulatory Concerns
Twenty-First Century Fox proposals to the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for a comprehensive "ringfencing" of Sky News and a sale of Sky News to Disney should end any of CMA's plurality concerns and guarantee Sky News' long-term future…
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and editorial independence, Sky said Tuesday. It said a Disney/Sky News would happen only after Fox's completed buy of Sky, regardless of whether Disney's proposed buy of Fox takes place. Under the Fox proposals Tuesday (see here and here) to CMA, Disney would guarantee that at least for 10 years, Sky News would operate in a wholly owned subsidiary, Newco, with Newco's board being entirely independent officers. Fox is pledging that proposed Sky News editorial guidelines would say the head of Sky News would retain complete operational and editorial control. With the revised remedies, Fox likely still expects regulatory approval by the end of June, Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker wrote investors. The CMA in January issued a preliminary finding that a Fox buy of Sky may not be in the public interest for media plurality (see 1801230010).