Hunt expected to give green light to Sky takeover next week

UK culture secretary Jeremy Hunt is expected to approve News Corp’s planned takeover of pay TV operator BSkyB next week after receiving a final report from regulator Ofcom on regulatory issues, according to press reports.

Hunt had previously indicated that he was likely to approve News Corp’s plan to acquire the 60.9% stake in Sky that it does not already own on condition that it spins off the Sky News channel and restricts its shareholding in the latter to the pre-merger level. However, The Guardian newspaper has reported that he plans to put the decision to a further seven days consultation before giving final approval.