“News Corp.’s shareholders on Tuesday voted to advance the media company’s plans to split off its publishing assets into a separate publicly traded entity and rename the remaining TV and film-focused business 21st Century Fox.
At a meeting in New York, shareholders easily approved three amendments to News Corp.’s certificate of incorporation that position the company to complete the separation on June 28, News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said at the meeting.
Following the separation, the new print media company, which will take the name News Corp., will have assets including The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and Times of London, plus book publisher HarperCollins. 21stCentury Fox will house the Fox broadcast and cable networks and the 20th Century Fox studio, among other properties.
Shares in the two companies will begin trading separately on July 1.
Mr. Murdoch said the separation will “enable us to respond more rapidly to fast-evolving markets.” Mr. Murdoch will continue as chairman and CEO of 21st Century Fox and will become executive chairman of the print media spin-off. The Murdoch family will effectively control both companies.
News Corp.’s board approved the separation late last month. As part of the deal, shareholders will get one share of the new publishing-focused company for every four shares of News Corp. they now own.
The move has been popular with investors who believe the print businesses are a drag on the growing media and entertainment assets. News Corp.’s stock is up about 45% since the company announced the separation nearly a year ago.
Mr. Murdoch and other News Corp. executives have sought to persuade investors that despite the long-term challenges of the publishing and newspaper world—most notably, the continuing shift of advertising from print to online— the print media assets can thrive in a separate company….”
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