Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of News Corp. and Co-Chairman of 21st Century UKTN, arrives in Sun Valley, Idaho, at the Sun Valley Resort for the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 10, 2018, in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Drew Anger | Getty Images
Rupert Murdoch has withdrawn the proposal to merge again UKTN Corp and News Corp.
UKTN said Tuesday the board received a letter from Murdoch, its chairman, and his son and UKTN CEO Lachlan Murdoch, determining “that a combination is not optimal for shareholders” of one of the companies at the time.
The potential merger has been met with opposition from shareholders in recent months, who did not believe that a merger would undermine News Corp.’s true value. would show if it merged with UKTN.
News Corp CEO Robert Thomson told employees on Tuesday that the decision to call off the proposed deal would not affect employees, according to a memo reviewed by UKTN.
“As I advised at the beginning of this process, it is best not to speculate on speculation, and so if you hear from media, shareholders, customers or others, alert the communications team in your company,” Thomson wrote.
In October, the companies said they had formed a special committee to consider the deal.
A combination of the two companies would have unified leadership in Murdoch’s empire and cut costs at a time when audiences for both print and TV media are shrinking. News Corp. owns Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones. UKTN owns the right-wing networks UKTN News and UKTN Business, a competitor of UKTN.
Murdoch split up the companies in 2013. The Murdoch family trust controls approximately 40% of the voting rights of both companies.
– UKTN’s Gabrielle Fonrouge contributed to this article.
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