FILE- This Monday, Feb. 1, 2010, file photo, shows News Corp.'s headquarters in New York. Under pressure to limit contagion from the British phone hacking scandal, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. confirmed Tuesday, June 26, 2012, that it is considering splitting into two publicly traded companies. The Wall Street Journal, News Corp.'s flagship newspaper, reported late Monday that the company is considering the separation of the newspaper and book publishing businesses from the entertainment arm, which includes Fox News Channel, broadcast TV network and 20th Century Fox movie studio. The media conglomerate did not specify Tuesday which businesses each company would contain. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
June 26, 2012 - 10:29 AM
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. confirmed Tuesday that it is considering splitting into two publicly traded companies, driving shares to their highest level in 4 1/2 years.
The media conglomerate did not specify which businesses each company would contain. The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday that a split would put the entertainment arm, including the 20th Century Fox film business and the Fox TV networks, into a separate company from News Corp.'s newspaper and book publishing businesses.
The entertainment business would include the Fox News, Sports and Business channels, the report said. The publishing businesses include the New York Post, The Times and Sun of London, the Dow Jones news service and the HarperCollins publishing imprints.
News Corp.'s entertainment business accounted for about 75 per cent of the company's revenue in the first three months of the year.
The Wall Street Journal is also owned by News Corp. The newspaper said in its report, which cited unnamed people familiar with the matter, that Murdoch has long opposed the idea but has warmed to it. His family controls about 40 per cent of the company.
The discussions come as the company deals with an investigation into phone hacking by its U.K. newspapers. The phone hacking scandal has shaken Britain's media, police and political establishments.
Shares of News Corp., which is based in New York, gained $1.46, or 7.2 per cent, to $21.54 in morning trading. Shares peaked earlier at $21.75, their highest level since December 2007.
News from © The Associated Press, 2012