Media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s Fox still expects to win £11.7bn Sky takeover

Murdoch-controlled 21st Century Fox will still land its takeover of Sky despite a ruling that the deal is not in the public interest, said Fox boss James Murdoch.

Last month the Competition and Markets Authority said Fox’s £11.7 billion bid for the 61 per cent of Sky it doesn’t already own was not in the public interest, because it would give the Murdoch’s too much control over UK media.

New culture secretary Matt Hancock will make his final ruling in May.

Murdoch said the company still continues to expect that deal to be approved by the end of June. “We’ll continue to engage constructively... to address their concerns ahead of their May first final report,” he said.

Murdoch’s remarks come ahead of a key few days for Sky, which is bidding for the next round of rights to show Premier League football.

There are seven packages of games up for grabs from 2019. Sky will certainly face competition from BT. It is speculated that a third bidder, perhaps Amazon, will also get involved in the fray.

Although Sky has made much of its movie and TV interests, football is still seen as central to its business.