London — Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox said on Thursday it had agreed to buy European pay-TV firm Sky for $14.6bn, sticking to its earlier offer despite complaints from some investors. Fox said it would pursue a scheme of arrangement, meaning it would need the backing of 75% of Sky’s independent shareholders who vote to secure a deal that values Sky at £18.5bn in total. Seeking to consolidate his media empire across Europe and the US, Murdoch is buying the 61% of Sky he does not already own to fully acquire its 22-million customers in Britain, Ireland, Italy, Germany and Austria. The two firms said last Friday they had struck a preliminary deal. But the price of £10.75 per share, representing a premium of around 40% on the day before the initial proposal was received, disappointed several top-50 shareholders who accused Sky of selling out to their founder and biggest shareholder too cheaply. People familiar with the matter have told Reuters that Fox pounced after Britain’s vote ...
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