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LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox has changed the group of banks lined up to help finance its proposed takeover of European pay-TV company Sky, replacing Bank of America with Citibank.

The company said on Friday it requested the change because Merrill Lynch, part of Bank of America, is an advisor to U.S. cable company Comcast, which has gatecrashed Fox’s agreed offer for Sky with a rival $31 billion bid.