Sky Shares Fall as U.K. Election Adds Uncertainty to Fox Bid

Shares in U.K. broadcaster Sky PLC (SKY.LN) fell nearly 3% in early trading Friday, shortly after results showed that Britain's ruling Conservative Party, which is traditionally pro-business, had lost its majority in Thursday's election.

The fall reflects uncertainty over 21st Century Fox Inc.'s $14 billion bid to buy the 61% of Sky it doesn't already own. Britain's media watchdog was due to submit a report on whether Fox was a "fit and proper" owner for Sky and on whether the merger was in the public interest on June 20 to Karen Bradley, the Conservative culture minister who would decide whether to approve the deal, ask for concessions or refer it for further review. Now it is unclear who the culture minister will be on June 20.

Rupert Murdoch and his family are major shareholders in Fox and News Corp, publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

Write to Stu Woo at stu.woo@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 09, 2017 04:17 ET (08:17 GMT)