British regulator Ofcom has delivered its report on News Corp's (NWSA.O) proposed $14 billion acquisition of BSkyB (BSY.L) to the UK government, bringing approval of the long-delayed deal closer. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said early this year he was inclined to approve the proposed deal after News Corp offered to spin off BSkyB's 24-hour news channel, Sky News, to alleviate concerns the deal would give News Corp too much media power. Since then, News Corp has been hammering out details of the spin-off proposal with regulators, delaying the government's final approval. Hunt is now expected to launch a further, short consultation after receiving the Ofcom report. A spokesman for the Culture Ministry said on Wednesday his department received the report, but could not confirm a report in the Guardian newspaper that said Hunt was set to approve the deal next week. "In terms of the decision, we have no guidance on when that will be and it will be made in due course," he said.
News Corporation is a diversified global media company. Shares of NWSA traded higher by 0.42% or $0.07/share to $16.72. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $11.61 and as high as $18.35. On average, 14499400 shares of NWSA exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 15984828.
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