Walt Disney in talks to buy Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, reports say
Reported deal would include UK broadcaster Sky but not US-based Fox News Channel
The Rupert Murdoch-controlled 21st Century Fox has restarted talks to sell most of the company, including UK broadcaster Sky, to Walt Disney, it was reported on Sunday.
The negotiations centre on Fox’s film studio, cable channels such as FX, and international businesses including India’s Star network and Sky, the Financial Times reported, citing “multiple people with knowledge of the talks”.
The apparent talks come as Fox struggles to secure full control of Sky for the second time in a decade. The £11.7 billion (US$15.41billion) deal has run foul of regulator concerns about media plurality in the UK and the Murdochs’ commitment to broadcasting standards.
That followed a review by Ofcom, the UK media watchdog, raised “significant concerns” over the two options for solving media plurality issues, known as behavioural and structural remedies. The CMA is due to publish the provisional findings of its investigation in December. Sky has threatened to close its Sky News network if the deal is not cleared.
In what was viewed as a setback for the Murdoch family’s hopes of taking full control of Sky, last month Ofcom ruled that the Fox News programmes Hannity and Tucker Carlson Tonight breached impartiality rules covering British broadcasting.
A deal with Disney would end Fox’s pursuit of Sky and leave it with the Fox News Channel, Fox broadcast network and its sports rights, which the FT reported would not be sold.