2012-05-01 15:16:25 BSkyB Shares up Despite MPs Declaring Rupert Murdoch 'Not a Fit' Owner |
British Sky Broadcasting shares rose in London trading despite a damning report from British MPs labelling the owner of News Corp, media baron Rupert Murdoch, as "not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company".
Murdoch is accused of "wilful blindness" in his handling of the phone hacking scandal engulfing his newspaper business News International by a newly released Culture, Media, and Sport Select Committee report.
"On the basis of the facts and evidence before the Committee, we conclude that, if at all relevant times Rupert Murdoch did not take steps to become fully informed about phone-hacking, he turned a blind eye and exhibited wilful blindness to what was going on in his companies and publications," said the 121-page report.
News Corp owns 39 percent of BSkyB and is also the subject of an investigation by broadcasting regulators to determine if it is a "fit and proper" holder of a British broadcasting license.
Murdoch had hoped to wholly buy BSkyB with News Corp and made a takeover bid, but faced serious political and public opposition in the wake of the hacking and police bribery scandal involving his other media businesses.
News Corp subsequently withdrew its bid and Ofcom opened it investigation. |