News Corp. is looking to expand into sports betting, book publishing, and digital subscriptions with a potential new merger with old divisions.
Key Details
- Mass media company News Corp. is eyeing Fox Corp. as it looks to form a merger with the TV company.
- The merger would re-combine two big names in media and focus on sports and news.
- The combination of the two companies would save money and open opportunities across both sides of business.
Why it’s important
News Corp and Fox were once a joint force before splitting in 2013. The companies decided to part ways after a hacking scandal that exposed the two to both legal and financial risks.
Now the two media companies are looking at a potential reconcile of forces after spending nine years apart.
The merger could open up opportunities within many sectors including sports betting, book publishing, and digital subscriptions.
News Corp. and Fox Corp. both filed notices to securities regulators last week stating that each had formed committees to begin exploring a potential combination of the two companies, according to Axios writers Sara Fischer and Tim Baysinger.
The two companies have many businesses within themselves that could be merged to broaden opportunities. For example, Fox’s publishing arm Fox News Books could merge with News Corp.’s book publishing—HarperCollins.
News Corp. is worth around $9 billion, while Fox sits around $17 billion. The combination of the two companies would raise the overall value, bringing it closer to the size of other big media brands.
Some analysts say that the combination won’t raise the value, while others say it will and it is a smart decision as the demand for news and tv has been declining in the last few years.
In all the combination might not help the companies beat other big media outlets, but it most likely will help the two survive during the troubling economic times.
