Rupert Murdoch rejects proposed Fox-News Corp merger
Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp and co-chairman of 21st Century Fox, arrives at Sun Valley Resort for the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 10, 2018 in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Drew Regrets | Getty Images
Rupert Murdoch has withdrawn the proposal to merge again Fox Corp and News Corp.
Fox said on Tuesday that the board received a letter from Murdoch, its chairman, and his son Lachlan Murdoch “determining that a combination is not optimal for the shareholders” of either company at the time.
The potential merger had faced opposition from shareholders in recent months, who did not believe a merger would show the true value of News Corp. if it merged with Fox.
A Fox spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In October, the companies said they had formed a special committee to review the deal.
A combination of the two companies would have unified leadership of Murdoch’s empire and cut costs. News Corp. owns Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones. Fox, with what was left over from the $71.3 billion sale of Twenty-First Century Fox to Disney in 2019, owns right-wing networks Fox News and Fox Business, which is a CNBC competitor.
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