With Walt Disney set to close its acquisition of large parts of 21st Century Fox just after midnight tonight, the spin-off of Fox Corporation that houses the Murdoch family’s remaining assets, including the Fox News Channel and Fox broadcast network, is being completed today.
The official debut of the new company comes amid both bullishness and some skepticism on Wall Street and marks a new phase for the slimmed-down Murdoch empire, where Fox News will be an even larger financial contributor.
It also marks the last step in the rise of Lachlan Murdoch to the top of his father’s company.
The 47-year-old serves as the chairman and CEO of the company (after having been executive co-chairman of 21st Century Fox with his father), with Rupert Murdoch becoming co-chairman.
Younger Murdoch son James, who was CEO of 21st Century Fox, does not have an executive role at Fox Corp. and is expected to focus on an investment fund he launched this year.
The spinoff completed early today is part of a multi-pronged process that will culminate with the $71.3-billion sale of the rest of Murdoch’s entertainment company to Walt Disney Co.
The company announced that it had finished the process of issuing shares in the new Fox Corp. to investors of 21st Century Fox.
Fox announced its board members today, including former U.S. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-WI).
A Fox news release credited him for leading “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 once rising star of the Republican Party has kept a relatively low profile since leaving Congress, his legacy forever intertwined with the rise of Donald Trump and Ryan’s reluctance to challenge Trump.
Last week, Ryan reportedly told a crowd during a lecture in Vero Beach, Fla., that the Democrat who defines the race as one about Trump and Trump’s personality could beat him.
But he quickly backtracked on Twitter to clarify that he believes Trump deserves to win.
Other board members include Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, Anne Dias, Chase Carey, Roland A. Hernandez and Jacques Nasser.
The new Fox is now “a standalone, publicly traded company,” the company said. Its shares are listed on the Nasdaq market; today marks the first day of trading.
The 88-year-old mogul from Australia and his family decided in late 2017 to break up their entertainment empire, and Disney was Murdoch’s preferred suitor.
The Disney portion of the deal is expected to be complete at midnight when the Burbank entertainment giant swallows the bulk of the Fox assets.
The new incarnation of Fox is a slimmer version of the old Fox, but they will be dealing with the same management issues.
President Trump, a Fox News superfan, is pressuring his favorite cable network to bring back Jeanine Pirro, who has been suspended for making Islamophobic comments about Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar.