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		</div><p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/murdoch-bskyb-takeover-moves-closer.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full" title="Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he was minded to wave through News Corp's proposed takeover of Sky News" src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/min-murdoch-bskyb-takeover-moves-closer.jpg" alt="Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he was minded to wave through News Corp's proposed takeover of Sky News"/></a></p>
<p>Rupert Murdoch&#8217;s controversial bid to take full control of BSkyB received a boost when the Government backed proposals to spin off Sky News as part of any deal.</p>
<p>Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he was minded to wave through the takeover by News Corporation after the media giant offered to make the channel into a separate independent company and subsidise it for a decade, but opponents branded the undertakings a &#8220;whitewash&#8221; and Labour accused the coalition of a &#8220;cavalier&#8221; approach to the issues.</p>
<p>News Corp is seeking to avoid a full-blown inquiry into its plans to buy the 61% of BSkyB it does not already own after Mr Hunt said last month he planned to refer the deal to the Competition Commission.</p>
<p>The new conditions are subject to a 15-day public consultation period, but an alliance of other media organisations has already indicated it is ready to take legal action to block the arrangement.</p>
<p>News Corp has yet to agree a takeover price with BSkyB after its initial 700p-a-share bid, which valued the business at £12.3 billion, was rejected for being too low.</p>
<p>The two sides agreed to postpone setting a price until the regulatory hurdles have been overcome, but reports suggest the price Mr Murdoch is willing to pay is likely to be much lower than the 900p a share many BSkyB investors are expecting.</p>
<p>Mr Hunt, who took his decision following advice from regulators, said he was &#8220;very aware&#8221; of the controversy surrounding the deal but the remedies would address concerns about media plurality, should the takeover go ahead.</p>
<p>He told MPs: &#8220;Because I am very, very conscious that people are suspicious of the motives of politicians on a decision like this, I sought independent advice at every step of the way. Ofcom assure me that the undertakings that are being made do address the concerns that they had over plurality. I think News Corporation have moved a very long way. They are relinquishing significant control over the operation of Sky News.&#8221;</p>
<p>An Ofcom spokesman said it was pleased News Corp had agreed to &#8220;place editorial independence and integrity at the heart&#8221; of the spun-off Sky News and &#8220;underpin this with arrangements that secure full independent governance&#8221;.</p>
<p>News Corp, which also owns papers including The Sun and The Times, is offering to hive off Sky News into a company controlled by independent directors and with an independent editorial board. It would fund the news channel for 10 years and agree a seven-year licensing agreement for it to use the Sky News name.</p>
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