Murdoch scraps merger of Fox and News Corp after investor pushback

Rupert Murdoch has called off a proposal to combine Fox and News Corp after his attempt to bring together the two halves of his media empire faced stiff resistance from shareholders.

Murdoch’s companies announced on Tuesday that the “special committees” established to explore merger terms would be disbanded with immediate effect, on the grounds the merger proposal did not serve the interest of shareholders of Fox and News Corp “at this time”. 

“In withdrawing the proposal, [Rupert] Murdoch indicated . . . that a combination is not optimal for the shareholders of Fox and News Corp at this time,” the statement said. 

This is a developing story. More to follow