LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox said it has reached a deal to acquire full control of British satellite television giant Sky
According to the New York Times, the deal will see Fox pay about $14.8 billion for the 61% stake in Sky that they do not currently hold. A previous bid 2012 by 21st Century Fox’s predecessor company, News Corporation, was scuttled in 2012 over a scandal centered on phone hacking by the news giant in the UK.
Sky is Europe's biggest and leading media company and largest pay-TV broadcaster, with 21 million subscribers and 30,000 employees as of 2015. In total, the transaction places the overall value of Sky at approximately $23 billion.
In a statement on Thursday, 21st Century Fox said the deal “creates a global leader in content creation and distribution, enhances our sports and entertainment scale and gives us unique and leading direct-to-consumer capabilities and technologies.”
21st Century Fox said it expected the transaction to close by the end of 2017 and is subject to regulatory approval. – Staff Writers
