Murdoch clan consider reuniting Fox Corp and News Corp

Reports have emerged that media mogul Rupert Murdoch and son Lachlan are exploring the idea of reuniting News Corp and Fox Corp, the two companies the Murdoch family controls. A merger between the two would reverse the 2013 decision to split the two – though since then Fox has sold a range of assets to rival Disney.

Lachlan Murdoch

The story was first broken by The Wall Street Journal which says the proposal will be considered by special committees of each company’s board of directors. There is no guarantee a merger will result from the discussions, but such an alliance would bring together assets including the Fox broadcast network, Fox News Channel, Fox Sports, TMZ, Harper Collins, the Dow Jones and various international newspaper holdings.

“We are always exploring opportunities to strengthen and grow our business, particularly at a time of such dynamic change in the media industry,” Lachlan Murdoch, a senior executive at both companies, told employees in a memo. “However, I want to emphasise that the special committee has not made any determination at this time, and there can be no certainty that any transaction will result from its evaluation.”

Fox is a leaner operation than before the Disney transaction, but the acquisition of AVOD platform Tubi and the creation of international division Fox Entertainment Global signal an ambition to rebuild the global empire. The family’s trust controls approximately 39% of the voting shares of News Corp. and about 42% of Fox Corp.

In a separate development, Fox and Altice have struck a carriage deal in the US, heading off the possibility of Fox and Fox News being pulled from the New York-based cable platform. Altice viewers were at risk of missing out on live NFL games across the weekend. No details were provided of the deal that broke the deadlock.