Apr 7, 2017

EU approves Murdoch's acquisition of Sky TV

World Economic Forum/Flickr

The European Commission has greenlighted 21st Century Fox's acquisition of Sky TV, a huge win for owner Rupert Murdoch, who's battling a major national controversy regarding Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly.

In a statement, the EU said the transaction "would raise no competition concerns in Europe," which is something regulators were weighing heavily given the fact that Murdoch already owns 39% of Sky TV and two of the UK's biggest newspapers, The Times and The Sun.

The O'Reilly factor: Regulators have approved the acquisition despite the ongoing Bill O'Reilly scandal stateside, which suggests there could be less pressure on Murodoch to take action against O'Reilly now that he's cleared his biggest business hurdle.

Why it matters: While regulators were mostly weighing the monopoly factor in the acquisition, they also considered Murdoch's ownership style while determining whether he and his son James Murdoch (chief executive of Fox and Chairman of Sky) could handle another major acquisition responsibly.

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