LONDON (Reuters) - The British government on Friday extended the period within which competition regulators must report on Rupert Murdoch's $14.5 billion (11.24 billion pounds) bid to take over pay-TV group Sky (L:SKYB) by one month due to the country's national election on June 8.
Last month Karen Bradley, Britain's culture, media and sport secretary, intervened in the proposed acquisition of Sky by Murdoch's Twenty First Century Fox (O:FOXA) on the media public interest grounds of media plurality and commitment to broadcasting standards.
At the time she asked Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to assess the deal and report to her by May 16.
That deadline has now been extended to June 20.
The deal was cleared by the European Commission earlier this month, leaving the British investigation the only remaining hurdle.