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Toby Melville/Reuters
LONDON — Britain’s culture minister said Tuesday that she was leaning toward asking the country’s competition regulator to carry out a more detailed review of a bid by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox to take full control of the British satellite television giant Sky.
In an address to Parliament, the minister, Karen Bradley, said she was “minded” to refer the $15 billion deal to the Competition and Markets Authority for a more intensive inquiry over concerns about whether Fox would uphold broadcast standards in Britain and whether it would control too much of the British media.
Sky and Fox would have 10 days to respond before Ms. Bradley makes a final decision.
The move had been expected: Ms. Bradley had previously indicated that concerns over how much control the Murdoch family would have over the country’s media merited a further review.
The in-depth inquiry could take as long as six months. It would further delay the transaction, a setback for Mr. Murdoch, who founded the satellite broadcaster in the early 1990s and has long coveted total ownership of Sky.
