Kirch-Gruppe sells remaining shares in BSkyB

NEWS German media conglomerate Kirch-Gruppe has sold the last of its shares in UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB. The loss of the influential shareholder caused BSkyB's shares to drop 70 pence to a three-month low of £10.78 yesterday. Sky was putting a brave face on the news. A spokesman commented: "What happened yesterday drew a line under the summer of speculation about a potential Kirch sale." KirchPayTV had owned a 3.4 per cent stake in BSkyB, following a deal in December 1999 between Leo Kirch and Sky's Rupert Murdoch. BSkyB's value was slowly recovering at the time of writing.