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To: Bill Wolf who wrote (12085)

7/29/2024 8:08:15 AM

From: Bill Wolf

Respond to of 12122

What happens if Rupert Murdoch wins?If Lachlan Murdoch comes out on top in the (latest) succession fight over the media empire built by his father, Rupert, what would it mean for the family’s companies?

The Times’s Edmund Lee, who has covered the Murdochs for years, set down his copy of “King Lear" to examine Lachlan’s record for clues about what he might do next.

Murdoch wants to alter the family trust to hand majority control of his companies to his elder son. Under the terms of the so-called irrevocable trust, his four oldest children — Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan and James — would have equal control of the empire after Murdoch dies.

Prudence, James and Elisabeth are fighting to prevent any change.

Lachlan’s career is mixed. He left the family company amid a bitter dispute with his father in 2005 and started his own investment firm. A bet on a radio network worked out. A big investment in a TV network did not.

Lachlan returned to the fold about a decade later and became his family’s heir apparent, taking over as chair of News Corp and executive chair and C.E.O. of Fox when his father retired last September. (Murdoch became chairman emeritus of both companies.)

Lachlan’s big deals haven’t worked out. Last year, Lachlan failed to reunite the two parts of his media empire after investors balked at his first big attempted deal since taking charge.

He also didn’t manage to pull off the sale of a real estate listings business.

The Murdoch empire still faces serious structural problems. When your business relies primarily on newspaper and cable subscriptions, chances are you’re seeing fewer dollars come into the register:

News Corp, which publishes The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post, as well as influential titles in Britain and Australia, cut 5 percent of its work force last year. But The Journal is a bright spot, with digital subscriptions having grown an average of 17 percent a year since 2019.
Fox has been steadier. N.F.L. games on its broadcast network are consistent money makers and viewership is solid at Fox News. Even so, investors expect total revenue to be essentially flat on average over the next few years.

What will Lachlan do if he wins control? He could try again to reunite Fox and News Corp, but may have to win over investors via moves including selling off weaker businesses like the newspapers (except for The Journal).

If Murdoch’s fight to protect Lachlan fails, his oldest son is sure to face angry siblings who could unite to demand sweeping changes across both of the family’s companies after Murdoch dies — including who runs them.