Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp on Monday said it would to buy out the shareholders of its unit Fox Entertainment Group Inc in an exchange offer valued at roughly $6 billion.
Under the terms of the deal, which would consolidate Murdoch’s ownership of US assets such as 20th Century Fox film studios and control of satellite service DirecTV, holders of Fox Class A shares will receive 1.90 shares of News Corp’s class A shares. That represents a premium of about 7.4 per cent over Fox’s closing price last Friday of $31.22 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Mario Gabelli, fund manager of Gabelli Asset Management, said the deal would make it easier for media moghul Murdoch to go after acquisitions.