As Fox and News Corp Weigh Merger, an Activist Has Its Own Vision

Shares of News Corp rose about 6 percent in aftermarket trading on Friday. Shares of Fox were down half a percent, giving it a market capitalization of about $17 billion.

Without Murdoch family support, Irenic may face an uphill battle. Rupert Murdoch’s son Lachlan is co-chairman of News Corp, alongside his father, as well as the executive chairman and chief executive of Fox. The Murdoch Family Trust, which Rupert Murdoch controls with his eldest children, owns 39.5 percent of the company. The family’s control stems largely from its ownership of its Class B shares.

Mr. Katz of Irenic is a former senior analyst at the hedge fund Elliott Management, one of the most prominent activist investors. Another activist fund, ValueAct, disclosed a position in The New York Times this year and is pushing for the company to sell its subscription bundles more aggressively.

News Corp would still be a media colossus without its real estate business. The company’s other units include Dow Jones, which generated about $2 billion in revenue last year from properties including The Wall Street Journal, and its information services unit, which includes the intelligence provider Factiva. Dow Jones generated about $433 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization this past year.

The remaining media businesses would include The New York Post, The Times of London and the HarperCollins publishing business, which generated about $2.2 billion of revenue last year.

Benjamin Mullin contributed reporting.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/16/business/fox-news-corp-merger-activist.html