News Corp agrees Sky bid proposals

News Corp has agreed with regulators the final terms of a merger remedy to allow it to proceed with its proposed bid for British Sky Broadcasting, writes FT.com.

The document was passed to the office of Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, last week, and all parties now expect him to announce early next week that he will put the revised remedy out for a short period of consultation.

According to Business Week, News Corp faces opposition from rivals who say full ownership of the UK's biggest pay-TV operator would give Rupert Murdoch too much power. News Corp has offered to spin off BSkyB's Sky News, a 24-hour news channel, into a public limited company.

Hunt may start an additional weeklong industry consultation as News Corp's undertakings have changed, said a person familiar with the matter who declined to be identified because the deliberations are confidential.

Hunt has previously said he is likely to accept the proposal to spin off the 24-hour rolling news channel, in a bid to ensure diversity of news provision in the UK, according to The Telegraph.

News Corp already owns 39.1% of BSkyB as well as UK newspapers that together represent more than 40% of the national market.