(Bloomberg) -- Opponents of Fox News are taking their case to Britain's media regulator, hoping to influence its review of 21st Century Fox Inc.'s 11.7 billion pound ($15 billion) bid to buy the rest of pay-TV provider Sky Plc.
Attorney Lisa Bloom is coming to London with Wendy Walsh, one of the women that alleged sexual harassment by former Fox New presenter Bill O'Reilly to meet Monday with representatives for Ofcom, according Avaaz, a campaigning group. Bloom and Walsh also plan to meet Mark Lewis, the lawyer who represented many of the defendants in the U.K.'s phone-hacking scandal.
In a letter to Sharon White, the director general of Ofcom, Bloom, said last month she wanted to bring to her attention Fox News' “ongoing culture of sexual harassment” and that the company's handling of the claims is “reminiscent” of the handling of the tabloid phone-hacking scandal in 2011.
The sexual harassment scandal embroiling Fox News in the U.S. is threatening to become a factor in Fox's bid for Sky. Ofcom must take into account Fox's corporate governance in deciding whether the public interest would be served by the Sky deal as well as assess Sky's fitness to hold a broadcasting license under a so-called fit and proper test following the purchase. The acquisition is a long-held goal of 21st Century Fox Co-Chairman Rupert Murdoch, whose previous attempt was sunk by a phone-hacking scandal six years ago.
“21st Century Fox has taken prompt and decisive action to address allegations of sexual harassment and workplace issues at Fox News,” the company said in a statement.
Also Friday, Douglas Wigdor, an attorney for other former Fox employees, said in an email he had been invited to meet Ofcom on behalf of his clients on Thursday afternoon.
Ofcom's deadline to complete its assessment has been pushed to June 20 from May 16 after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap parliamentary election on June 8. Civil-rights activists have already pressed Ofcom to consider how Fox executives dealt with harassment complaints from employees against O'Reilly and ex-Fox News President Roger Ailes.
Last year, Fox retained law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP to conduct an independent investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Ailes, who left the company shortly after. Paul Weiss also investigated allegations against star Fox News host O'Reilly, who left last month. Bill Shine, the network's co-president, resigned this week in the wake of the scandal.
Sky shares were down 0.2 percent on Friday at 12:53 p.m. in London at 990.5 pence, about 8.5 percent below the offer price.
--With assistance from Erik Larson
To contact the reporters on this story: David Hellier in London at dhellier@bloomberg.net, Joe Mayes in London at jmayes9@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jacqueline Simmons at jackiem@bloomberg.net, Kim Robert McLaughlin, Ville Heiskanen
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