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Murdoch return prompts Sky rumours

21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch has been appointed chairman of Sky, prompting speculation the US-based firm could be preparing a takeover of the European satcaster.

James Murdoch

James Murdoch

Murdoch resigned from the same position at what was then BSkyB four years ago after fall-out from the UK phone hacking scandal hit News International, where he was also chairman.

Fox, which is owned by Murdoch’s father and media mogul Rupert, held a 39% stake in BSkyB and now holds the same interest in the European company following the takeover by the UK firm of its sibling operations in Germany and Italy in 2014.

The move has reignited rumours that Fox could be set to mount a bid for the 61% of the firm that it doesn’t own. Rupert Murdoch had previously attempted to take full control of Sky in the UK back in 2011 but was forced to end the chase after the phone hacking allegations.

Murdoch praised Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch, adding that “the team at Sky have done an outstanding job in building a dynamic and successful company.

“As chairman, I look forward to working with the board and management as they continue to deliver a great service for Sky’s customers and create value for all shareholders over the years to come.”

Murdoch replaces Nick Ferguson, who had been with the company for more than a decade, with the appointment coming as Sky revealed it had added 337,000 new customers in the UK and Ireland in the last six months of 2015.

The half-year results also revealed that Sky’s pre-tax profit was down to £414m (US$594m), compared with £1.2bn last year, largely due to Sky’s sale of stakes in ITV and Nat Geo.

Overall sales, however, were up 5% in the six months to December 31, with the UK and Germany rising 6% and 10% respectively. The figure in Italy was down 3%, year-on-year. Operating profit was up 12% to £747m.

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