Brussels clears News Corp bid for BSkyB

European competition authorities announced on Dec 21 that they have unconditionally cleared News Corp’s proposed 800p-a-share bid for British Sky Broadcasting.

The clearance by the European Commission, taken solely on the fairly narrow grounds of competition means that the final say in the matter rests with to UK regulators whose department is overseen by Vince Cable, the UK business secretary. The commission’s merger authorities found that there were no anticompetitive implications in Rupert Murdoch’s global media company buying the 60.9 per cent of BSkyB that it does not already own. The commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area or any substantial part of it.