Rupert Murdoch at his annual party at Spencer House, St James' Place in London. Date photo: Thursday 22 June 2023.
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Activist investor Starboard Value has decided to dissolve its company News Corp. Insiders say the share structure will be dual-class, challenging the Murdoch family's control over the Wall Street Journal's parent company.
The push was made through a non-binding shareholder resolution, the people said. News Corp's structure gave Rupert Murdoch control of about 40% of the company's voting shares as of September.
Starboard owns about 2% of the company's Class A shares, according to FactSet data. Managing member Jeff Smith told CNBC last year that the company pushed News Corp. to spin off its real estate assets, including a stake in REA Group from Australia.
Smith spoke out about the dual class structure last year: “There have been calls for declassification, it's something to consider. But there are easier ways to create a lot of value.”
Murdoch is also embroiled in a legal battle to give his son Lachlan Murdoch control of the family trust that holds the News Corp stake, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported.
Last November, Rupert Murdoch, 93, stepped down as chairman of both News Corp. and Fox Corp. He is now chairman emeritus of both companies. His son, Lachlan Murdoch, is the sole chairman of News Corp. and continued in his role as executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corp.
Shares of News Corp were down about 1 percent for the day, and rose slightly when Reuters first reported news of Starboard's push. Starboard has launched campaigns with companies including Autodesk, Match Group and Salesforce.
In addition to owning the magazine, News Corp also owns The Sun and publisher HarperCollins.
Representatives for News Corp and Starboard did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
