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Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox Inc aims to table a
firm cash bid valuing Sky at 10.75 pounds ($13.66) per share as
early as Wednesday for the 61 percent of the British broadcaster
it does not already own, four people familiar with the matter
told Reuters.
"All directors of Sky have a duty not to disadvantage the public
shareholders, and the position of the non-executives will need
to be robust to ensure that the premium paid is appropriate and
that shareholders are not disadvantaged by any temporary low in
the share price," said Kieran Quinn, chairman of Britain's Local
Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF).
The LAPFF represents 71 public sector pension funds managing 175
billion pounds ($222.29 billion) in assets.
LAPFF said it wanted to see unspecified "safeguards for future
probity given past track records of the businesses controlled by
the Murdoch family".
"Further clarity may also be needed so that public shareholders
have full confidence that proposals are not being unduly
influenced by the well-known relationships between Sky and
Twenty-First Century Fox," it said.
"The role of (British communications industry regulator) OFCOM
would be helpful in bringing its expert scrutiny on a deal that
will have a broader impact on the future of the broadcasting and
print media marketplace in the UK," Quinn added.
(Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Jason Neely)
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