Touted Fox, News Corp merger to have no major local impact
Murdoch:
News Corporation, the parent company of News Corp Australia, is planning on reuniting its Fox and News Corp businesses globally, however such a move would have no local impact according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
It is expected to remain ASX-listed in Australia, following a statement on Saturday morning that a special committee has been formed to “begin exploring a potential combination with Fox Corporation”, at the request of Rupert Murdoch and the Murdoch Family Trust.
It has been nine years since the company’s split
In 2013, News Corporation split its business, creating the new News Corp, retaining the publishing assets globally, while 21st Century Fox retained its film and television assets. Following the sale of its film assets to Disney in 2019, the remaining assets then became Fox Corp.
Rupert Murdoch is the current chairman of Fox Corp, and executive chairman of News Corp, while his son Lachlan Murdoch is the executive chairman and CEO of Fox, and co-chairman of News Corp.
The special committee is composed of independent and disinterested members of the News Corporation board, and have begun to explore and evaluate a potential combination with Fox, the media company said.
The American company operates the influential TV network Fox, while the publishing business owns titles including The Australian, The Herald Sun, and The Daily Telegraph, as well as international mastheads The Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Sun. It also owns real estate advertising business REA Group and publisher Harper Collins.
The SMH reported that local media sources familiar with the plans said it would have no impact on the local division, as there are no Fox Corp-owned assets locally, with Foxtel potentially sitting with Fox’s other television assets at some point.
News Corp-backed online betting company, Betr launched last week, and has since already been hit with a warning and investigation regarding a promotional advertising campaign. Liquor & Gaming NSW issued a show notice to the company, as it ran advertisements in News Corp titles, offering 100-1 odds on all horses at the upcoming Melbourne Cup.
News Corp is thought to own a 33% stake in Betr.
News Corp is currently sitting at $25.90 on the ASX, with a market capitalisation of $14.66.
