The withdrawal of News Corp's bid has killed off the Competition Commission enquiry into the media plurality implications of the deal. The announcement came shortly before an unprecedented debate in the House of Commons where the government backed a motion by the opposition Labour Party calling for News Corp to drop the takeover.

The reference to the 'climate' in News Corp's statement has prompted speculation that News Corp intends to renew its offer for BSkyB once the firestorm surrounding the phone-hacking allegations has died down. Clearly, the acquisition of full control of the highly profitable BSkyB by News Corp remains a good deal.

However, News Corp is very much at the mercy of events, which have already caused the takeover saga to take a series of wild and unpredictable turns. Lawsuits filed in the US by News Corp shareholders attacking the Murdoch family's governance of the company, possible investigations into whether its US and Australian newspapers also followed dubious practices, and the threat of criminal proceedings and civil suits by phone-hacking victims in the UK, all lie in wait.

BSkyB, which is due to report full year results on 29 July, is not directly affected by the News Corp offer being suspended. However, it is facing a number of regulatory challenges, including its appeal against Ofcom's price-setting for its sports channels and a Competition Commission investigation of its position in the market for rights to pay TV movies. It is also hard not to see the new Communications Bill, on which the government has been consulting, not being coloured by the current scandal - particularly if it includes new regulations on media cross-ownership.