Rupert Murdoch withdraws offer for Time Warner

August 06, 2014 04:57

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has said his 21st Century Fox group had withdrawn its bid for Time Warner, a massive offer which could have shaken up the media-entertainment world.

Worth an estimated USD 80 billion, the offer was taken off the table after Time Warner "refused to engage with us" and the news hurt the share price of 21st Century Fox, Murdoch said yesterday.

"The reaction in our share price since our proposal was made undervalues our stock and makes the transaction unattractive to Fox shareholders," he said, in a statement.

"These factors, coupled with our commitment to be both disciplined in our approach to the combination and focused on delivering value for the Fox shareholders, has led us to withdraw our offer."

Murdoch said he made the decision even though the deal "had significant strategic merit and compelling financial rationale and our approach had always been friendly."

The statement said the board authorised a USD 6 billion share repurchase program after withdrawing the offer. The bid unveiled by 21st Century Fox in July would have merged two of the world's biggest media-entertainment empires.

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