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Tag: news corp split

  • Wendi Deng, Rupert Murdoch to Divorce

    Australian news mogul Rupert Murdoch has filed for divorce from his wife of nearly 14 years. Murdoch’s net worth is currently estimated to be around $12 billion, placing him just in Forbes’ top 100 richest people in the world.

    According to The Guardian, Murdoch’s divorce filing stated that his marriage to 44-year-old Wendi Deng Murdoch has “broken down irretrievably. The marriage is Murdoch’s third and Deng’s second. The couple have two children, named Grace and Chloe. Custody details were not included in Murdoch’s divorce filing.

    The couple reportedly met in Hong Kong in 1997. They were married in 1999 shortly after Murdoch’s divorce from his second wife was finalized.

    Though she is a Chinese-born, Yale-educated businesswoman, Deng is, perhaps, best known for defending Murdoch from a pie-throwing protester in 2011. Murdoch’s News Corp. was, at the time, in the midst of the U.K. phone hacking scandal.

    The couple are now separated. After the hacking scandal took hold, Murdoch was forced to make drastic changes to News Corp. The corporation will soon be split into two separate companies, one for Fox’s film and TV properties, and one for the newspaper business.

    Murdoch has not commented on his divorce through his Twitter account, which he is infamous for using to promote his outspoken opinions. He has, though, recently praised comedian Bill Cosby, Australia Minister Adam Giles, and the new pope:

    (via The Guardian)
    (Image courtesy David Shankbone/Wikimedia Commons)

  • News Corp. Board Approves Split Unanimously

    The News Corp. Board of Directors unanimously approved the companies split into two separate entities last night after hearing presentations from financial advisors and chairman, Rupert Murdoch himself.

    The split was formally announced in a company memo this morning, and the organization’s print media and broadcast/film entities will be split becoming two separately functioning companies. Murdoch is to remain chairman of both organizations and oversee the split personally.

    Current investors will receive one share in each of the new companies for every one they hold presently. The decision is welcome news for many investors who feel that the film and broadcast end of News Corp’s business is weighed down by their print media and publication end. In fact, shares have jumped over 10% since the debate over the split surfaced on Monday.

    On top of a near 50% decline in newspaper advertising in the past five years, print publishing faces increasing competition from online news outlets and overall lower profit margins than the television and film business. In other word, the company needs to due something to maintain their ever-thinning and meager 7% profit margin.

    Other experts warn that the film and television broadcast media end of News Corp’s business isn’t recession proof either, and in the past five years they have faced major threats from a decline in advertising expenditures and major loses in DVD sales, which have traditionally been big money-makers for film companies.

    Still, the split and a strategic reorganization could be the best thing for both sides of the business. Murdoch claims he came to the decision to spin off the two companies after a three year long review of how the company functions, and he believes both entities will emerge stronger and better managed.

    In any event, the company is splitting and the process will take over a year to complete. Whether they emerge stronger and more competitive is yet to be seen. We’ll keep you updated as things evolve with the News Corp. split.

  • News Corp. and Rupert Murdoch Consider a Spin Off

    Despite previous reservations by News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, the company is contemplating a split of their news and film assets from their print publication and newspaper divisions.

    Currently News Corp owns 20th Century Fox film studio, Fox broadcast network and Fox News channel, in the way of television and film. As far as newspaper and print media goes, they own the Wall Street Journal, the Times of London, the Australian newspaper, HarperCollins book publishing, and more.

    The split would leave the print media business considerably smaller than the film and TV side of things. The decision to reorganize assets comes just after a scandal involving phone-hacking at the company’s British newspaper operations.

    The phone-hacking scandal resulted in the closing of News of the World tabloid and the resignation of several senior executives. News Corp. also decided to back out on a bid for shares in British Sky Broadcasting, a UK satellite television operator. Before the scandal, James Murdoch was chairman at the satellite operator, but resigned his position in the wake of controversy.

    While Rupert is a very big fan of the newspaper and print business, News Corp.’s focus on television and film dates back over 25 years, and nearly 90% of their current profit and revenue comes from that end of the business. It’s a change investors would welcome.

    No decisions have been made yet, but a split makes sense financially, and it distances the print media problems from the film and television money-maker. We will keep you informed as News Corp. moves towards a restructuring decision.