EU regulators to approve Fox takeover of Sky - sources

A Sky logo is seen at the company's UK headquarters in west London July 25, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2V9EV

Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox is set to win unconditional EU antitrust approval for its 11.7-billion-pound (USD 14.5 billion) takeover of European pay-TV group Sky, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Fox already owns 39 percent of Sky. Murdoch and his family have long coveted full control of Sky, despite the damaging failure of a previous attempt in 2011 when their British newspaper business became embroiled in a phone-hacking scandal.

The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on the deal on Friday, declined to comment.

($1 = 0.8052 pounds)e