Standard Life Aberdeen boss Martin Gilbert takes Glencore leave of absence to concentrate on ‘protracted Sky takeover’

City bigwig Martin Gilbert is taking a leave of absence from the board of mining giant Glencore as he concentrates on another one of his heavy-hitting roles – as deputy chair of takeover target Sky.

The co-chief executive of Standard Life Aberdeen will be replaced as Glencore’s audit and remuneration committee chair by Patrice Merrin. His leave of absence has been granted until mid-October 2018.

Sky’s board, which had planned to wrap up a takeover by 21st Century Fox this summer, has subsequently withdrawn its support for the deal after US rival Comcast launched a £22bn rival bid last month.

Read more: Sky pulls support for Murdoch deal after Comcast firms up £22bn approach

The government is due to give its final verdict on Fox’s takeover in mid-June – but with Sky execs no longer supporting the offer the new ownership of the firm remains in the balance.

Today, Glencore said Gilbert would temporarily stand down “owing to his current commitment as Deputy Chairman of Sky in respect of its protracted competitive bid situation”.

Read more: Money or power? Fox has a decision to make in its Sky pursuit