Fox’s Sky deal receives regulatory clearance in Ireland

Media company 21st Century Fox has received regulatory approval in the Republic of Ireland for its proposed takeover of European pay-television operator Sky.

Fox said that it welcomed “the decision by the Republic of Ireland's Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to clear the company's acquisition of the outstanding shares of Sky that the company does not already own, ruling that the proposed transaction will not result in insufficient plurality for any audience in the Republic of Ireland.”

The deal has already been cleared by regulators in all of the markets in which Sky operates, apart from the UK, where a decision was delayed until after the June 8 general election. Authorities in Austria, Germany and Italy had already approved the transaction, with the European Commission also having provided “unconditional clearance” on April 7.

Karen Bradley, the UK Secretary of State for Media, Culture and Sport has received the final reports from UK media regulator Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority on the planned deal. She is set to make her initial ‘minded to’ decision, publish the reports and make a statement to parliament this Thursday.

Sky is a major sports broadcaster, with premium rights in Germany, Italy and the UK, where it is the primary live domestic rights-holder for football’s English Premier League.