Rupert Murdoch may revive longstanding plan to reunite Fox and News Corp

NEW YORK: Rupert Murdoch's longstanding wish to reunite Fox Corp and News Corp could resurface in a potential merger that would bring together a television company and a sprawling news operation, consolidating his family's control over a smaller media empire, according to court documents and video.

Discussions about a possible re-merger emerged in recent weeks from unsealed court documents and attorney testimony linked to a family succession dispute that began in 2023. The judicial official overseeing the case released the findings at the end of July.

The documents showed that in 2022, Murdoch, then chairman of both Fox and News Corp, became interested in recombining the companies less than a decade after splitting them. That effort failed after investors objected, but court proceedings in June indicated Murdoch could make another attempt.


During a hearing on whether the testimony should be made public, an attorney for Murdoch's son Lachlan argued that references to the potential merger should be sealed or redacted because it was "something that still could happen in the future."

Fox said in a statement: "The references in the court records concerned a potential merger considered in 2022. There have been no merger discussions between FOX and News Corp since then."

News Corp referred Reuters to Fox's statement.

Fox shares fell 3.4% while News Corp shares rose 0.7% following the Reuters report.

WANING MEDIA EMPIRE

Murdoch pursued the proposed merger aggressively in 2022, drafting a letter to the boards of both companies stating that the family trust would not "vote in favour of any alternative sale, merger or similar transaction involving either company."

After a representative for his daughter Elisabeth questioned the re-merger, Rupert Murdoch texted her and threatened to "ram it through ... if necessary."