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UK: Watchdog bowing out on review of $14.6B Fox-Sky deal

By  |  March 26, 2017

21st Century Fox’s bid for Sky will be weighed by European Union regulators after the UK merger watchdog passed up the chance of reviewing the $14.6 billion deal, according to two people familiar with the probe.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority isn’t expected to ask the European Commission to hand over the antitrust review of the transaction before a Friday cut-off date, said the people, who asked not to be named because details of the probe aren’t public. EU regulators now have an April 7 deadline to decide whether to approve it.

The antitrust investigation, which examines the economic power of a deal, is separate from another UK inquiry to decide whether the takeover breaches British rules on media plurality and broadcasting standards.

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