A&O and HogLov guide News Corp to success on BSkyB deal
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Allen & Overy (A&O) and Hogan Lovells have helped Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation as its bid to take over satellite broadcaster BSkyB got the green light from the UK Government.
The duo were instructed by the media giant to advise it on an investigation into the proposed deal by media watchdog Ofcom. London antitrust partner Antonio Bavasso led for A&O on plurality issues relating to the negotiations, while competition partners John Pheasant in London and Catriona Hatton in Brussels led for Hogan Lovells.
While culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said the deal should go through, Ofcom had previously referred the proposed takeover to the Competition Commission.
European clearance for News Corp came last December when the European Commission concluded that the transaction would not impede competition. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton acted for the media group on the case, with Brussels antitrust partner Francisco Enrique González-Díaz leading (21 December 2010).
The terms of the deal would see News Corp become sole controller of the broadcaster by buying the remaining 61 per cent stake it does not already own. The Sky News channel, meanwhile, would spin off into an independent, publicly listed company.
Readers' comments (3)
Good news? | 4-Mar-2011 10:09 am
And this is a positive news story?
Can't see why HoganLovells should be proud of helping Murdoch increase his hold on the UK.
Everyone sees this for what it is: a dangerous acquiescence to power by the current Government. Sky News spinning off is joke too - Murdoch will still subsidize it, and still own 39% of the company too. Hardly independent and hardly helping media plurality.
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Dayglo Dave | 4-Mar-2011 2:55 pm
Good news? @ 10:09
Pardon? I didn't see any mention in the article of HoganLovells being proud of anything. And, anyway, lawyers don't have to align themselves with their client's activities. They carry out instructions.
And what have politics got to do with balanced legal reporting?
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Heard that before | 4-Mar-2011 4:08 pm
Dayglo Dave @ 2.55pm
....I was only following orders?
What is legal and what is right are often two very different things. Law firms have a choice about what they do, so don't play the 'legal work is detached from what clients do' card - it's phoney and untrue. After all, apartheid was legal in Soutn Africa for decades - didn't make it right. This isn't a barrister making sure a defendant gets represented in a criminal trial either, this is a business making some nice profit from helping Murdoch to get what he wants. Same would go for working for Gadaffi and claiming 'i was only helping a client'.
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