Fox chief executive James Murdoch has said he wants to take control of Sky’s European business, but made clear he was in no hurry to do so.
James, who alongside his brother Lachlan, took control at 21st Century Fox at the beginning of July, was speaking to The Hollywood Reporter. He said that the Sky businesses had only just been brought together into a single European platform. “That integration is going really well. The company is moving at a very fast pace and has grown in value enormously,” he said.
The takeover by the then BSkyB of Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia cost £6.88 billion. Fox owns 39% of the combined operation.
“We’ve also been clear that over time, having 40 percent of an unconsolidated asset is not an end state that is natural for us,” he continued, but indicated that an immediate move to consolidate his interest was not on the cards. “Right now, we’re 100 percent focused on supporting the company to get this integration going and get it done for the business to move forward, so there are no plans on the agenda right now.”
The comments are in line with comments made at a BofA Merrill Lynch conference in September, where John Nallen, 21st Century Fox Inc’s CFO said he had no need for any capital to fund a new Sky bid.
On Wednesday Sky reported a first quarter operating profit of £375 million.
