The European Commission has given unconditional approval to US media company 21st Century Fox’s proposed £11.7bn (€13.7bn/$14.5bn) takeover of pan-European pay-television broadcaster Sky.
The Commission said that it saw no competition problems with Fox’s bid to acquire the remaining shareholding in Sky that it does not already own. The Commission added that the two companies compete “only to a limited extent” in providing pay-television channels and acquiring sports rights, according to the Reuters news agency.
The deal still requires the approval of UK media regulator Ofcom, which is set to report back to the UK government by May 16.
Sky has live rights to a number of sports properties, including football’s English Premier League.