FOX Fox Corporation

    By Adria Calatayud 
 

The British culture secretary, Matt Hancock, said Tuesday that the terms offered by 21st Century Fox Inc. (FOX) to divest Sky PLC's (SKY.LN) news operations to Walt Disney Co. (DIS) meet the criteria to approve Fox's bid for the 61% stake in the U.K. pay-TV group it doesn't already own.

On June 5, Mr. Hancock said the sale of Sky News to Disney or to an alternative suitable buyer could remediate media plurality concerns caused by a potential deal, but laid out a timeline of 15 days to reach a deal. The culture secretary will now open a 15-day public consultation and is expected to make a final decision after July 4.

Both Sky and Fox welcomed Mr. Hancock's statement in separate releases.

Under Fox's latest proposal, Sky News would be divested to Disney following the close of the Sky transaction, and Fox has committed to increase its funding of Sky News to 15 years under Disney's ownership, the company said.

Sky is 39%-owned by 21st Century Fox (FOX), which shares common ownership with News Corp (NWS), the parent company of Dow Jones.

Read more about the Sky takeover at https://on.wsj.com/2GVUM2A (WSJ paywall) or https://bit.ly/2KKyeTZ (NewsPlus).

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayudvaello@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 19, 2018 11:10 ET (15:10 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.