Reuters Holdings PLC said it had bought...

Reuters Holdings PLC said it had bought a 48.8% interest in Australian Associated Press for $59.4 million. Reuters acquired 44.65% of the Australian domestic news agency’s holding company from the John Fairfax Ltd. group and 4.15% from West Australian Newspapers Ltd., part of the Bell group. Fairfax and West Australian Newspapers had originally agreed to sell the shares to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation Ltd. But Australia’s anti-monopoly watchdog, the Trade Practices Commission, said it would investigate the deal with News Corp. to determine if laws relating to market dominance had been violated.