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News Corp Shares Plunge 7.1% & BSkyB 7.5% Over UK Scandal Fears
Has UK Phone-Hacking Scandal Sunk Rupert Murdoch’s Biggest Deal?
Shareholders Sue News Corp: Corporate Governance “Culture Run Amok”
In an extraordinary twist, News Corp has done today what it has spent months trying to prevent, and has forced the UK government to refer its £9 billion deal to buy BSkyB outright to anti-trust regulator the Competition Commission. This will delay the deal for months. But crucially, it means that News Corp does not have to drop its bid entirely.
Jeremy Hunt, the UK culture secretary, had no choice but to stand up in the House of Commons this afternoon and announce he was referring the BSkyB deal to the anti-trust regulator. Hunt said the move would address the “abuses of power” that have dogged the biggest deal of Rupert Murdoch’s career. Hunt may have presented what he was doing as a victory for tough government, but the truth is that’s exactly what the Murdochs now want: They believe they will be cleared of having too much media ownership if they buy BSkyB outright. Europe’s anti-trust regulator has already cleared the deal on competition grounds. News Corp has withdrawn its offer to spin off Sky News as a separate entity. Previously, FCC-equivalent Ofcom said that spinning off Sky News would be enough to swing the deal in its eyes.
Hunt is desperately rowing back from his previously sympathetic attitude towards the BSkyB deal. He has ambitions to be Prime Minister and has finally realized that the mushroom cloud rising over News International, News Corp’s UK newspaper arm, could affect his political ambitions, I’m told. Hunt has written to other regulators, asking them whether they want to reconsider their original go-ahead for the bid. Ofcom still has the ability to scupper the deal if it decides that News Corp is not a fit and proper owner for BSkyB. Since its original advice, press regulator the Press Complaints Commission said it was lied to by News International, James Murdoch has admitted serious wrongdoing and there are allegations of a cover-up stretching back to 2007.
BSkyB shares were down 7.5% this afternoon at 694p per share — well under the 700p per share that News Corp originally offered for the 61% of the pay-TV behemoth it does not already own.
Meanwhile, senior UK politicians are putting pressure on Ofcom to intervene and block the bid. They see the opposition Labour Party making political capital out of the government’s close links to the Murdochs. Ed Miliband, leader of the Labour Party, has called on Rupert Murdoch to drop the BSkyB deal, calling it “untenable.” Opposition politicians are planning to vote against the takeover on Wednesday. Liberal Democrat MPs, who are in coalition with the Conservatives, also plan to vote against the deal. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, a Liberal Democrat, has already called on Rupert Murdoch to drop the takeover. In his marvelously British way, Clegg told the BBC that Murdoch should “do the decent thing” and reconsider the bid.
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It’s shocking that there is even a possibility Murdoch could be approved to buy the rest of BSkyB.
Rupert’s company is so big and employs so many people that there’s no way in this life he can possibly know everything every employee does, he doesn’t micro manage, every company at one point or another makes a mistake and hires lowlifes who pose as good people , until they work for them, mess up, then the boss finds out their actions, most bosses would only terminate them, but Rupert closed down News World, that speaks volume about his character in his action that he does not condone unacceptable behaviors from his employees! A few screw ups of low lifes doesn’t represent the entire company or belief system in which Rupert built his company, other wise he would not have lasted this long and people would have not done business with him world wide! Politicians are crooks and lie for their own self serving interest! Rupert ” create jobs ” for millions of people world wide! Wake up people! Rupert is an asset to any society not an enemy! Leave him alone! He’s old! I hope Rupert gives them a good ass kicking! I am fair and smart!
“There’s no way in this life he can possibly know everything every employee does, he doesn’t micro manage”
Murdoch’s son and heir apparent has admitted that he approved the deals contrary to his prior statements to Parliament (i.e he lied.)
“Rupert’s company is so big and employs so many people that there’s no way in this life he can possibly know everything every employee does”
Unbelievable for you to argue that something this big and high profile escaped Murdoch’s attention. If your company is any way connected to a murder investigation, especially of a 12 year old, you pay attention to that.
“the boss finds out their actions, most bosses would only terminate them, but Rupert closed down News World, that speaks volume about his character”
Murdoch has NOT terminated his son, the CEO and the then-editor. They are still on staff at News Corp despite all this. In fact the latter now has a bigger job running the Wall Street Journal!
You are right about one thing. It says something about character.
777 You either work for Murdoch or are delusional. Once you see everything Rebekah Brooks has done, and that Murdoch is defending her, it will be obvious that Murdoch certainly knew what was going on. More of her actions are leaking out every day and this is a vicious nasty woman that would wielded her power to control British politics in a scheme of threats and revenge. If men in political power did not do as she said, she would ruin them with her power of The Sun and News of the World. When the police tried to get her to testify years ago, she told them if they made her testify, she would destroy their lives. And Murdoch says she is the most important thing to him. Which tells me she has the goods on him and could implicate him directly.
That’s a riot! Sorry, the “few bad apples” defense isn’t going to work, The Sun and Sunday Times were involved in the latest outrage, the record theft, hacking etc. of Gordon Brown. Rebecca Brooks herself told him The Sun had his young child’s medical records. They published a story about his cystic fibrosis almost before the family had time to absorb the diagnosis. Hard to understand how UK institutions could have allowed that creep, Rupert Murdoch, to wield so much power. Just goes to show no one entitiy should control so much media.
Murdoch has admitted that he lied to Parliament when he said he didn’t know about the phone hacking.
You would think the old codger had enough tucked under the mattress not to need to profit from the misery of a missing child’s parents or from the devestation of a parent of a dying newborn, but obviously not.
perhaps 777 would like to set up a helpline 1800 24653 for donations to a Rupert Murdoch pension fund (your calls may be recorded for training purposes but not for prurient muck-racking in pursuit of cold profit).
So, you’re one of the many NI plants who’re cropping up all over the web, right? Desperately trying the flak defence, which is generally breaking down to three or four different paradigms:
i: Old Rupe’s the big boss he ccan’t be expected to know what a few rotten apples get up to
ii: Yes this is bad but it’s being blown out of all proportion by Murdoch’s media rivals/ the left/ the BBC/ the disciples of Stalin
iii: Yes this is bad but don’t get sucked into the agenda of evil politicians who want to control the press (i.e., who want to not be controlled by them)
iv: You just hates me cos I’m an Aussie.
Whatever, whicheve, it’s all b/s. Wrap your head around it: several exceutives, editors, and a couple of policemen are going to go to prison. Rebekah Brooks, whether or not she’s amongst them, is finished. James Murdoch, an effete lightweight who’d never’ve achieved a thing in life if it wasn’t for his last name, is finished. Rupert’s got no more than a year left at the head of NewsCorp. Newscorp will keep the papers and just about keep its 39% Sky share, or it’ll get Sky once Rupert’s no longer at the head but still have to divest itself of all three remaining papers. And that, my friend, will be that.
Obviously that last comment by 777 (someone who doesn’t want to use their own name and go on record)… obviously that person feels compassion for the poor old, beaten up billionaire. I’m sure he appreciates it.
Rupert Murdoch as anyone with the slightest intelligence, the slightest sense of media savy… knows that Murdoch has wreaked more death and destruction on this planet than all the media barons throughout history combined. Rupert knew exactly what was going on at the NOTW. He demands results, not excuses. He has soiled every newspaper he has touched. He always said news should be entertaining -well he’s providing a big show for everyone now.
Oh he’s going to get BSkyB, not because of any grovelling effort he’s doing now. BSkyB will be his… or rather his masters, because thats how its been all along.
As for his character… closing down the NOTW tabliod to save a $14 billion deal? Thats hardly a sacrifice!
“Murdoch has wreaked more death and destruction on this planet than all the media barons throughout history combined”
Instead of using your real name, you should have signed it ‘Drama Queen’.
One can only hope that Murdoch’s British media empire crashes to the ground so spectacularly that it takes his American and Australian media empires with it.
Freedom loving people everywhere must be vigilant, and just say “no” to rich men who would use the power that comes with their wealth to force their world view on others. The Murdochs make my skin crawl.
I guess 777 is wealthy old billionaire. I can’t think of any reason for the destructive owner of Faux Snooze to have any person with a conscience defending him
It is called Corporate Culture and it’s set by the man at the top whether it is Colonel Sanders, Frank Perdue, Walt Disney or Rupert Murdoch. The blame the bad apple is only good if it’s one guy taking shortcuts. But it isn’t. This is Australian Rules Journalism
The Strategic Exclamation Point Reserve is at dangerously low levels following 777′s comment.
LOL…..!!!!!!! (whoops – reserves depleted…sorry ya’ll).