News Corp has lost its grip on DirecTV after the US Justice Department gave anti trust approval on Liberty Media’s acquisition of a controlling stake in the group. The decision came just 24 hours after the Federal Communications Commission gave its own green light to the transaction. The FCC said it was requiring Liberty and DirecTV to continue with rules covering channel access previously placed on News Corp.
The deal between News and Liberty was made in December 2006 when News agreed to transfer its controlling stake in DirecTV for $550 million (€370m) cash and three regional sports network in return for Liberty’s 16.3% in News Corp.
