Submitted by Fox First at Ten on December 3rd
By By The Associated Press
News Corp. is planning to split into two companies. One company will operate as a newspaper and book publisher and will retain the name News Corp. The other will be an entertainment company, called Fox Group.
Here's how the split will work:
- Newspapers, book publishing and information services such as Dow Jones Newswires will be part of the publishing company. The 20th Century Fox movie studio, the Fox broadcast TV network and the Fox News Channel will be part of the media and entertainment company.
- Current News Corp. shareholders will get shares in each company, but how many shares and how much each entity will be worth have yet to be determined. Both companies will trade publicly, under different stock tickers.
- Rupert Murdoch will be chairman of both companies and CEO of the media and entertainment company. Robert Thomson, managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, will become CEO of the publishing company.
- News Corp.'s board unanimously approved the split, but it will need to approve a more formal proposal. The deal is also subject to shareholder and numerous regulatory approvals.
- News Corp. plans to hold a special meeting of its shareholders in the first half of 2013 and expects the deal to be completed in mid-2013.
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