Nick Ferguson, the City grandee who replaced James, will quit as chairman and a director of Sky in April. It said the decision to appoint James as chairman again had been unanimous.
Chief executive Jeremy Darroch said: “Our senior independent non-executive director Martin Gilbert led the process and the nomination committee met separately from the board. It then put its recommendation to the board who approved it unanimously.”
He admitted James’s was the only name submitted to the board.
Gilbert, chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management which owns nearly 15 million Sky shares, is becoming deputy chairman, a role which has not existed since James ceased to be chairman.
Deputy: Aberdeen Asset Management chief Martin Gilbert
Aberdeen Asset Management
Andrew Sukawaty, chairman of satellite communications group Inmarsat, will take on the role of senior independent director. That will leave Sky in the unusual position of having 12 directors, of which only six are deemed to be independent.
Citi, which rates Sky shares a buy with a target price of 1350p, said: “The retirement of the current chairman Nick Ferguson and the announcement of James Murdoch as his replacement may raise some questions about the balance of the board between independents and non-independents.”
Sky had its strongest quarter for a decade, signing up 377,000 new customers in the three months to December.
Half-year operating profits rose by 12% to £747 million, beating City forecasts, and the dividend goes up 2p to 12.6p a share.
