Share
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Rupert Murdoch has pulled the plug on a proposal to bring back together his News Corp. and Fox Corp., saying the merger isn’t coming at the right time for shareholders.
In similar statements Tuesday, the companies said their boards received letters from Murdoch withdrawing the plan.
“Mr. Murdoch indicated that he and (son and Fox Corp. chief executive) Lachlan K. Murdoch have determined that a combination is not optimal for shareholders of News Corp. and Fox at this time,” the statements said.
Germany was “acting in close coordination” with its international allies, he added.The elder Murdoch first floated merging News Corp. — which owns The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, The Sun and The Times in the U.K., and book publisher HarperCollins — and Fox Corp. that controls Fox News, Fox Sports and local TV stations, in October, according to regulatory filings.
The media mogul had sent letters to the companies’ boards, which formed committees to look into a possible merger.
News Corp. started as one company but split into two in 2013: 21st Century Fox with the entertainment assets and News Corp. with publishing and media assets.
The Murdoch family controls both corporations but had spun off the Fox properties into a separate company after selling a large part of the Fox entertainment empire to Walt Disney Co. for $71 billion in a deal that closed in 2019.
In premarket trading, News Corp. shares added 1.8% while Fox shares rose 3.9%.
RELATED TOPICS:
Thief Uses Sleight of Hand to Swipe $255K Tiffany Ring, Cops Say
6 hours ago
California Reports the First Increase in Groundwater Supplies in 4 Years
7 hours ago
Lawsuit Alleges Decades of Child Sex Abuse at Illinois Juvenile Detention Centers Statewide
7 hours ago
Texas Soldier Arrested in Russia on Theft Charges After Unexpected Detour
7 hours ago
Fresno Detectives Arrest Motorcycle Club Leader on Arson, Gun Charges
7 hours ago
Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism Awarded to The New York Times, The Washington Post, AP and Others
8 hours ago
Hamas Accepts Gaza Cease-Fire; Israel Launches Strikes in Rafah
9 hours ago
Tom Brady’s Netflix Roast Features Lots of Jabs and a Belichick-Kraft Reunion
9 hours ago
CA Limits How Police Respond to Protests. Why Were Bean Bag Shotguns Used at UCLA?
9 hours ago
This Is Why Banana Ball Drew 31,000 for the Series in Fresno