Fox and News Corp, After Years Apart, Explore Merger

The deal, if it goes through, could put a collection of news and entertainment assets including Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, the Fox broadcasting network and TMZ under the same corporate umbrella.

In 2019, Mr. Murdoch sold some of his biggest entertainment assets, including the 21st Century Fox movie studio, to the Walt Disney Company. That was one of numerous media deals that took place to compete with tech giants like Meta, which owns Facebook, and Alphabet’s YouTube.

Lachlan Murdoch, the chief executive of Fox and one of Rupert Murdoch’s sons, told Fox investors in 2019 that the companies would not reunite.

Mr. Murdoch, the chairman of both companies, proposed the deal within the past two weeks, according to three people with knowledge of the talks. The Murdoch Family Trust, which has ownership stakes in both companies, also endorsed the formation of special committees to consider a potential merger.

Mr. Murdoch sees potential moneymaking and cost-saving opportunities in joining the two companies. The new company could look for ways to integrate its media properties. It could also explore ways to use the company’s assets for emerging business lines, such as sports betting. In 2019, Fox said it was joining forces with the Stars Group, a gaming company, to launch a sports-betting platform called Fox Bet.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/14/business/media/fox-news-corp-merger.html