Deals
Fox Ties Disney to Sky News Guarantee to Win Takeover Approval
- Funding guarantee of 10 years adds to editorial pledges
- The Sky takeover is key to Fox’s $52.4 billion Disney deal
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21st Century Fox Inc. is sweetening its offer to U.K. regulators reviewing its takeover of Sky Plc, raising the prospect that Walt Disney Co. would guarantee the future of the European broadcaster’s news service.
Rupert Murdoch’s Fox, which is in negotiations with competition authorities over its 11.7 billion pound ($16.4 billion) purchase of Sky, proposed this week a funding guarantee of at least 10 years for Sky News, the U.K.’s first 24-hour news channel. Disney would inherit that commitment with its $52.4 billion purchase of most of Fox’s film and TV assets, including Sky.