Rupert Murdoch Scraps Plans To Reunite Fox And News Corp.

Topline

Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch on Tuesday withdrew a proposal to potentially reunite his broadcasting company Fox Corporation and publishing firm News Corporation as a single entity, which would have brought major media outlets like the Wall Street Journal and Fox News under the same umbrella.

Key Facts

Murdoch, 91, called off the idea to combine the two publicly traded companies after determining “a combination is not optimal for shareholders,” according to a statement from News Corp.

News Corp. said in October it had formed a special committee to consider a reunion in response to a request from Murdoch and the Murdoch Family Trust.

Share prices of Fox Corp.—the larger of the two companies—rose more than 2.3% in after-hours trading Tuesday afternoon to $31.25, while News Corp.’s stock slid 0.15% after-hours to $19.50.

Fox Corp. is the broadcasting arm of Murdoch’s media empire, controlling Fox News, Fox’s broadcast TV network, TMZ and the Tubi streaming service, with News Corp. owning print products like the Journal, New York Post and HarperCollins publishing house.

Key Background

The two companies split from an earlier version of News Corp. in 2013, in a move also billed as positive for shareholders. Members of the Murdoch family remain the largest shareholders of both companies, with Rupert Murdoch serving as chairman and CEO of News Corp. and chairman of the board at Fox Corp., where his son, Lachlan Murdoch, is CEO. Four years ago, Fox Corp.—then known as 21st Century Fox—closed a deal to sell many of its assets to Disney, including its TV and movie studios and its stake in the streaming service Hulu, shrinking the size of the Murdoch family empire.

Big Number

More than $28.5 billion. That’s the combined market capitalization of Fox Corp. ($17.2 billion) and News Corp. ($11.3 billion).

Forbes Valuation

$18 billion. That’s how much we estimate Murdoch and his family are worth, nearly all a result of Fox Corp. and News Corp. shares.

Further Reading

Rupert Murdoch Mulls Reuniting Fox And News Corp, Including WSJ (Forbes)