Lachlan Murdoch will secure control of family media empire as siblings, James, Elisabeth and Prudence take $1.5b each.
A Succession-like battle for Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has ended.
Lachlan Murdoch, Murdoch’s eldest son, will secure control of the media empire that includes FOX News, The Wall Street Journal, The Times, News Corp, FOX Sports, FOX Entertainment, FOX Televisiion stations (US), Tubi, Harper Collins and more.
His three oldest siblings, James, Elisabeth and Prudence, will receive an estimated $US1 billion (A$1.52 billion) each for their shares in the business.
A FOX Corporation statement says the family has “reached a mutual resolution of the legal proceeding in Nevada … resulting in the termination of all litigation”. The three siblings would also be prevented from ever buying back into the companies.
Rupert Murdoch’s children with his third wife Wendy Deng, Chloe and Grace, will join Lachlan in a new family trust that will hold controlling stakes in FOX Corporation and News Corp, the Murdochs’ media groups. Under the agreement, Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch and James Murdoch will be the beneficiaries of a trust that will house the proceeds of the sale.
The deal cements Lachlan as successor to the family empire after family and political differences.
James Murdoch has been a vocal critic of the political slant of the family business, particularly on climate change and its support of Donald Trump, who is currently suing Murdoch’s the Wall Street Journal.
In a rare interview earlier published this year, James Murdoch told the Atlantic magazine that he regarded his father as a “misogynist” and described FOX News as a “menace” to US democracy.
“News Corp’s board of directors welcomes these developments and believes that the leadership, vision and management by the Company’s Chair, Lachlan Murdoch, will continue to be important to guiding the Company’s strategy and success,” News Corp said in a statement.
Rupert Murdoch announced that he was stepping down as the chairman of FOX Corp, effective November 2023. In May 2018 it was confirmed that Lachlan Murdoch, rather than James Murdoch, would take charge of the company, ahead of a family court battle.