News Corp. Completes $471M Buyout of Elisabeth Murdoch’s Shine

Under terms of sale, Rupert’s daughter receives $250 million and a seat on the board

Rupert Murdoch has got his daughter, Elisabeth, back under his own roof, and all it took was several hundreds of millions. 

News Corp. has completed its purchase of the Shine Group, the company announced on Monday.

The television production company's shareholders will receive approximately £290 million ($471 million). Under the terms of the buyout, Elisabeth Murdoch will join the News Corp. board.

She will also get a nice payout from the sale, banking an estimated £153 million ($250 million) from her 53 percent stake in Shine. Other investors include Sony (20 percent) and BSkyB (13 percent).

The sale has its critics. Last month, a group of shareholders filed suit alleging that the media mogul's purchase of his daughter's company was "nepotism."

The transaction was approved by the Audit Committee of the News Corp. Board of Directors, who were advised by Centerview Partners, an independent investment bank, and received legal advice from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

News Corp. was advised by Hogan Lovells. JPMorgan Chase acted as exclusive financial advisor to Shine Group, with legal advice from Olswang LLP in the U.K. and O’Melveny & Myers LLP in the U.S.

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