Fox and News Corp shares volatile on renewed merger speculation

Investing.com -- Shares of Fox Corporation and News Corp showed volatile trading with volume spikes Thursday following a Reuters report that Rupert Murdoch is considering a re-merger of the two companies.

Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch are contemplating recombining Fox Corp and News Corp, the report said citing court documents and video testimony related to a family succession case that started in 2023.

The documents, unsealed during recent weeks, revealed that Rupert Murdoch, then chairman of both companies, became interested in recombining the entities in 2022 after splitting them less than 10 years earlier.

Murdoch drafted a letter to both boards stating the family trust would not "vote in favor of any alternative sale, merger or similar transaction involving either company." When his daughter Elisabeth's representative questioned the re-merger, Rupert texted her and threatened to "ram it through ... if necessary."

The initial merger attempt failed after investors rejected the plan. Court proceedings from June indicate Murdoch could make another attempt. An attorney for Lachlan Murdoch argued during a hearing on whether court testimony should be made public that merger discussions should be sealed because it's "something that still could happen in the future."

The judicial official overseeing the succession matter released the findings at the end of July.

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