News Corp goes to EU with BSkyB takeover bid

News Corp today moved to get the EU approval it needs for its proposed offer for BSkyB.

Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate officially notified Brussels that intends to make a takeover bid, ending a period of informal talks with the European Commission during which the regulator tried to ensure it had all the information it needed for any formal review.

The Commission has until December 8 to investigate the deal on competition grounds, then must decide whether it needs to conduct a secondary probe, which could take up to a further 125 working days.

BSkyB and News Corp announced that they were in talks about a possible takeover in June. News Corp, which owns 39% of BSkyB, proposed paying £7.8 billion, or 700 pence per share, for the BSkyB stock it does not already own.

But BSkyB's independent directors rejected the bid as too low, saying they would be prepared to support an offer above 800 pence. The two parties then agreed to seek regulatory approval before further price negotiations.

The proposed deal will be looked at by European regulators and Business Secretary, Vince Cable, who may refer it for further examination to media regulator Ofcom and to the Competition Commission.

BSkyB shares were up 0.1% to 711p this morning.