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Fox wants probe into Comcast's Sky offer; hedge fund buys Telecom Italia stake

S&P Global Market Intelligence provides a wrap-up of European media and communications deal announcements, completions and updates from March 5 to March 10.

TOP NEWS

* 21st Century Fox Inc. has urged media watchdogs in the U.K. and the European Union to launch probes into Comcast Corp.'s proposed takeover offer for Sky plc, in a bid to slow down the U.S. cable giant's push for the British pay TV company. Fox CFO John Nallen called for an in-depth investigation into the bid's unusual structure, as well as Comcast's compliance record on broadcasting and antitrust standards, The Daily Telegraph reported March 7. He suggested that the extent of Comcast's influence and conduct as a "global news organization" may be in conflict with broadcast rules as implemented by British media regulator Ofcom. In response, a source close to Comcast reportedly said the cable company does not face the same regulatory challenges as Fox. These include the latter's ownership structure, the plurality of its media assets and its governance standards. Comcast is working to outpace Fox as it has already contacted Ofcom and EU watchdogs, according to an earlier report. The company is also working on detailed filings and has already tapped lawyers to prepare for regulatory approval by the summer. However, Comcast has yet to make a firm offer for Sky and is reportedly unlikely to do so for several weeks.

* Elliott Management Corp. acquired a 6% holding in Telecom Italia SpA, as the activist hedge fund seeks to challenge the latter's largest shareholder Vivendi SA, Italian daily La Repubblica reported. The hedge fund was also planning to present an alternative business plan for Telecom Italia, whose board met March 6 to approve a new business strategy, according to a Reuters report. Elliott is building a stake in Telecom Italia in a bid to counter how the French media group is managing the telco, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. The hedge fund intends to introduce changes, such as nominating directors, to Telecom Italia's board.

M&A Media

* Liberty Global plc unit Telenet said March 7 that it will fully acquire Flemish television production company De Vijver Media NV, which owns the Vier, Vijf, and Zes channels as well as Production House Woestijnvis.

* Amazon.com Inc. acquired Dublin-based GameSparks, a cloud-based platform for game developers. The acquisition will allow GameSparks to continue to grow the service, and explore new ways to help developers build, operate and monetize games, the company noted in a March 5 post on its website.

M&A Communications

* M&G Investment Management Ltd., through its infrastructure fund, offered to acquire broadband company Gigaclear plc for about £270 million, Reuters reported March 9, citing a statement from M&G unit Infracapital that owns 43% of Gigaclear.

* Telia Co. AB said March 9 that it is acquiring Finnish IT service provider Cloud Solutions CS Oy.

* The board of directors of Eir Group plc's parent company Eircom Holdco SA has stepped down prior to the expected completion of the Irish operator's purchase by Toohil Telecom Holdings Ltd. in the first half of 2018, Eir said March. 8. Eir CFO Huib Costermans also revealed plans to leave the company in June after deal completion. Toohil Telecom is owned by Iliad SA founder Xavier Niel.

* Fintur Holdings BV sold its 51.3% stake in Azertel Telekomünikasyon Yatirim ve Dis Ticaret AS to Azerbaijan International Telecom LLC, which is owned by the Republic of Azerbaijan, for about €221.7 million, according to a March 5 news release. Fintur is jointly owned by Telia Co. and Turkcell.

* Qualcomm Inc. extended the offering period of its previously announced offer to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Netherlands-based chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV, according to a March 5 news release. The tender offer was extended to March 9.