Fox Confirms $80 Billion Bid for Time Warner Was Rejected

The high-stakes bid would have created a media mega-empire

Rupert Murdoch
AP

Rupert Murdoch is big game hunting again.

21st Century Fox in June submitted an $80 billion takeover bid of rival media giant Time Warner, only to have the offer rejected.

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“21st Century Fox can confirm that we made a formal proposal to Time Warner last month to combine the two companies,” the company said in a statement. “The Time Warner Board of Directors declined to pursue our proposal. We are not currently in any discussions with Time Warner.”

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According to the New York Times, the offer would have equated to $85 in stock and cash for each Time Warner share, which was a 25 percent premium on the company’s then-stock price. The purchase would have been paid for in 60 percent stock and 40 percent cash; part of the problem with the deal, from Time Warner’s perspective, was that the shares came without voting power in the two-tiered Fox corporation, which is controlled by the Murdoch family.

The deal would have created a megapower that included film studios Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox; Fox TV networks and Time Warner’s TNT and TBS, as well as both companies’ rights to major sports broadcasts, including basketball, baseball, and football.

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