Former House Speaker Paul Ryan is appointed to the board of directors of the newly formed Fox Corp ahead of billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s $71bn sale of Fox entertainment to Disney
- Paul Ryan has been appointed to the newly formed Fox Corp’s board of directors
- Fox Corp is the new, stand alone and slimmed-down version of the Fox empire
- Billionaire Rupert Murdoch is selling off the entertainment wing of his company
- The $71bn sale of 21st Century Fox to Walt Disney Co. to be finalized Wednesday
- Fox Corp retains news and sports output while Disney acquires 20th Century Fox movie and television studios – with its treasure trove of lucrative, popular shows
- The acquisition clears the way for Disney to launch its Disney+ streaming service
- Murdoch retains his print and broadcast titles under News Corp, a prior iteration of Fox
- Fox also gave the green light to a temporary stockholder rights agreement
- The so-called ‘poison pill’ is understood to prevent against hostile takeover bids
Paul Ryan has been appointed to the board of directors of the newly formed Fox Corp amid the ongoing sale of billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox.
Fox Corp, a new, stand alone company, which owns Fox News among other television assets, marks a new phase for Murdoch’s media business which now will rely heavily on its cable news and sports output for the bulk of its earnings.
The separation is part of a $71 billion sale of Murdoch’s entertainment wing to Walt Disney Co., expected to be completed late Wednesday.
Paul Ryan has been appointed to the board of directors of the newly formed Fox Corp amid the ongoing sale of billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox. The appointment comes more than a year after the long-serving representative retired to spend more time with his family
The new stand alone company, which owns Fox News among other television assets, marks a new phase for Murdoch’s media business which now will rely heavily on its cable news and sports output for the bulk of its earnings (Murdoch is pictured with his oldest son Lachlan)
Murdoch retains the Fox News Channel and Fox broadcast network in the form of Fox Corp, while Disney will acquire the 20th Century Fox movie and television studios with its treasure trove of popular shows including The Simpsons and Modern Family.
The acquisition clears the way for Disney to launch its money-spinning Disney+ streaming service later this year.
Ryan, 49, who served in the House of Representatives for 20 years including three as speaker, retired in December 2018 to spend more time with his family.
The appointment marks his reemergence as a public figure. He joins previously announced board members Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch and Jacques Nasser, plus Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey, who was also announced today.
The separation is part of a $71 billion sale of Murdoch’s entertainment company to Walt Disney Co., expected to be completed late Wednesday. Murdoch retains the Fox News Channel and Fox broadcast network in the form of Fox Corp, while Disney will acquire the 20th Century Fox movie and television studios with its treasure trove of popular shows including The Simpsons
‘Mr. Paul D. Ryan served as the 54th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019, in which capacity he spearheaded efforts to revise the federal tax code, rebuild the national defense, expand domestic energy production, combat the opioid epidemic, and reform the criminal justice system,’ the company said in a press release.
Fox chairman and CEO, Lachlan Murdoch, who is Murdoch’s oldest son, said: ‘We are thrilled to welcome our new colleagues to the FOX board. We look forward to working with and being guided by them as we begin a new chapter, steadfastly committed to providing the best in news, sports and entertainment programming.’
’21CF and FOX are now each a standalone, publicly traded company,’ 21st Century Fox said in a statement issued at 8.30am ET.
Valued: Murdoch’s valued Fox News output is retained under the newly formed Fox Corp
Murdoch’s other company, News Corp, a prior iteration of Fox, still holds the family’s cherished print news and international businesses, such Sky News Australia as well as influential Wall Street Journal, New York Post and Times of London publications.
Fox also said today that its board has approved the adoption of a so-called ‘poison pill’ in the form of a temporary stockholder rights agreement. The move is thought to prevent against hostile takeover bids.
The poison pill is ‘intended to protect the stockholders of the company…from actions that the board of directors determines are not in the best interest of the company’s stockholders,’ Fox said.
‘The agreement is not intended to interfere with any merger, tender or exchange offer, share acquisition or other business combination transaction approved in advance by the board of directors, and the agreement does not prevent the board of directors from considering any offer that it considers to be in the best interest of the company’s stockholders.’