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The hidden message in Rupert Murdoch’s latest operation

Rupert Murdoch has a long history of tripping competitors and markets with unexpected business strategies. With a few notable exceptions (he blew billions on early social media platform MySpace), the 91-year-old entrepreneur has a track record of adeptly timing the market, and is an accomplished Corporate tactician.

That’s why his latest surprise move to reunite News Corp and Fox Corp, which fell apart in less than a decade, should be important to all investors.

It’s been talked about for years, but the announcement late last week that News Corp and Fox Corp were considering a partnership raised more than a few eyebrows on Wall Street.

An analyst at research firm Moffat Nathanson said, “This is nothing like what we expected Fox’s Endgame to play out.”[W]I don’t think Fox investors will be happy with the results that have been announced so far. “

Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan. After falling out with his father in 2005, Rupert’s eldest son and heir apparent, Lachlan, returned to his family business after a decade.credit:Getty Images

In 2013, when Murdoch decided to split up his multi-billion dollar corporate empire, News Corp was rocked by a phone-hacking scandal in a British tabloid, and print media businesses around the world were in deep trouble. was facing News Corp’s exposure to print dragged down its overall ratings and weighed on its rapidly growing US film and television properties.

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Since then, a lot has changed for both the Murdochs and the wider media business. Newspapers that have transformed their operations through digital subscriptions are no longer loved by the market. And Murdoch’s line of succession was settled with his eldest son Lachlan firmly in charge after his younger brother James’ grim departure.

The two Murdoch businesses that emerged under warranty are also very different from nine years ago. News Corporation still owns a large number of global and local newspapers (Wall Street Journal, The Times, The Australian, etc.), but now derives most of its revenue from digital real estate.

Fox Corp, on the other hand, is another beast. Murdoch sold his famous entertainment property to Disney for his $80 billion. It was right before Netflix and streaming wrecked Hollywood’s economy. Fox Corp is currently focused on live news (which owns the highest-rated US cable channel Fox News) and live sports (and its fast-growing US sports betting business adjacent to it).

The hidden message in Rupert Murdoch’s latest operation

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