As News Corp. patriarch Rupert Murdoch works on a deal to purchase his daughter Elisabeth’s production company, Shine Group, a plan may also be in the works to bring his elder son, Lachlan, back into the family media empire,
the
Daily Beast
reported.
An anonymous “source inside Shine” told the
Daily Beast
that the Shine deal “is the first step towards [Murdoch] setting the kids in place at News Corp.”
Sources cautioned that, as with any deal, talks could break down at the last minute. But they added that Murdoch’s desire to bring his daughter back to News Corp., combined with Elisabeth’s motivation to sell, will likely overcome any unforeseen obstacles to a deal.
The
Daily Beast
article noted that, according to anonymous sources, Murdoch’s
main goal is to figure out a way to return Elisabeth, 42, and Lachlan, 39, to the company and divide up the empire between them and their youngest brother James, 38, who is the only Murdoch child currently working at News Corp. According to sources, Murdoch and his three children have been actively talking for months about potential ways to work together again.
Rupert Murdoch turns 80 this year, the report noted. His eldest daughter, Pru, 52, is not involved in the company, though she will inherit part of the family 37% voting control of News Corp. along with her three siblings. Rupert Murdoch’s two children with his current wife, Wendi Deng, who are 10 and 8, will inherit a financial interest in News Corp. but no voting control.
Although Rupert Murdoch has not officially named a successor, sources say Liz’s imminent arrival at News Corp. isn’t expected to threaten James’ position as heir apparent, partly because he’s the one who stuck with his father and has the biggest presence among the siblings inside the company, and partly because she is understood to be more interested in content creation than being CEO of the company.
The
Daily Beast
report said it will be more difficult for Rupert Murdoch to lure Lachlan back to the company. In 2005, Lachlan was pushed out of News Corp., though he remains on the board as a non-executive director.
Lachlan oversaw many of News Corp.’s newspaper assets during his time a the company, including leading the money-losing
New York Post
past archrival
Daily News
in circulation during his time as publisher. That immediately impressed his father, who thinks that Lachlan is the best-suited among his children to lead the company’s legacy newspaper operations.
(Source:
Daily Beast,
Jan. 25, 2011.)
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