The London offices of Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox were raided by the European Commission on Tuesday (April 10).

In a statement to Reuters, the Commission confirmed the raid had taken place and said it was linked to an ongoing investigation into companies involved in sports broadcasting and rights.

Sports rights are huge for networks in Europe and the United States, with billions being spent on purchasing exclusive rights to show top-flight games and events across football, cricket, F1 and more.

The Commission confirmed it had conducted searches in several EU member states at organisations distributing "media rights and related rights pertaining to various sports events and/or their broadcasting".

"The Commission has concerns that the companies involved may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices," Fox Networks Group (FNG) told Reuters in a statement.

"Unannounced inspections are a preliminary step into suspected anticompetitive practices. (It) ... does not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself."

Fox Networks Group (FNG), a unit of 21st Century Fox Inc, also added it is cooperating with the inspection.

Earlier this month, 21st Century Fox offered to sell off Sky News to Disney to try and ease regulatory concerns over its proposed acquisition of Sky.

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Fox and Sky first agreed a takeover deal in December 2016, but the deal has so far been blocked by regulators.

In January, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found the deal would not be in the public's interest, due to the level of control it would give the Murdoch empire over the British media.

As well as owning 21st Century Fox, Murdoch also owns British newspapers The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun.

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