News Corp. will soon be divided into two companies. The company announced today that it will separate its entertainment holdings from its publishing business. Rupert Murdoch will still be the chairman of both companies.
The Huffington Post reports that Murdoch will be the CEO of the entertainment segment of News Corp. but someone else will be taking control of the publishing arm. News Corp. has not announced who will take over the newspaper business.
The Washington Post reports that one company will publish newspapers and books. The other company will control 20th Century Fox, the Fox TV network, and Fox news. It could take up to a year for the transition to be made.
Murdoch, who started News Corp. with a single Australian newspaper, said:
“We’ve come a long way in our journey that began nearly 60 years ago with a single newspaper operating out of Adelaide… Each of these new companies would have the potential to continue that journey and prosper as an independent entity long into the future. We will wow the world as two, as opposed to merely one.”
Investors in the company seem to agree that it’s a good idea to split up the company. The company’s Class B stock has shot up 10 percent since rumors of the split started circulating earlier this week.
Murdoch insists that splitting up News Corp. will not diminish his focus on the publishing industry.
Murdoch said:
“No doubt there will be those nay-sayers who see the announcement as an indication of concern about the long-term potential of the publishing industry. That could not be further from the truth.”
