Chairman of Fox corporation, Rupert Murdoch has reached a resolution to keep his Media conglomerate under the control of eldest son Lachlan. He did this after buying out three of his children for $3.3bn.
This decision resolves a bitter succession battle. It ensured that his media empire will retain its conservative political slant under Lachlan. Meanwhile, each of his other three Murdoch siblings — James, Elisabeth and Prudence would receive $1.1bn apiece through a partial share sale by the family trust.
In exchange, the three would give up their ownership interests in News Corp and Fox. Meanwhile, Murdoch’s children with Wendi Deng; Chloe and Grace, will join the trust with Lachlan Murdoch.
What it Means
The settlement means that when Rupert Murdoch dies, Lachlan will inherit control. He will oversee his sprawling media conglomerate, which includes Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and The Sun in London.
The multibillion-dollar payout resolves a decades-long family feud that has mesmerised media and political circles. It also helped inspire storylines in HBO’s Succession.
James Murdoch, who has been estranged from the family in recent years, had been interested in taking over his father’s news outlets. He potentially wanted to shift their conservative political stance.
The resolution follows an embarrassing legal battle as the 94-year-old Rupert tried to amend the trust that holds the family’s interests in the two companies.
Voting rights in the trust would have been split between his four eldest children when he died. However, Murdoch tried to change it to favor Lachlan, in a plan he called “Project Harmony”.
The deal will secure the right-leaning political direction of Fox. It will also influence News Corp’s stable of newspapers under Lachlan, who was anointed heir. He was appointed chair of the media group in 2023.
The deal will be financed through a partial sale of Murdoch’s stake via a block trade that will be handled by Morgan Stanley. Several institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds and large family offices had been lined up to acquire the stake
