SYDNEY, 19 November 2004 — A Saudi prince has thrown his support behind media mogul Rupert Murdoch over the future of News Corp. Inc., after a large share purchase by US cable group Liberty Media triggered talk of a potential takeover bid, a report said yesterday
John Malone’s Liberty increased its stake from nine percent to just over 17 percent after shareholders last month approved News Corp.’s move from South Australia to the US state of Delaware.
The move prompted News Corp. to invoke a “poison pill” defense that would allow shareholders to buy shares at half price if Liberty increased its shareholding further. The Murdoch family controls News Corp. and holds 29.4 percent of its voting stock.
The Australian Financial Review said yesterday that Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal had thrown his support firmly behind Murdoch. The prince owns about three percent of non-voting shares in News Corp. and offered to boost his stake if needed, the newspaper said in a report from New York. “I have the utmost confidence in Murdoch, his management team and his succession plan,” Alwaleed said, as quoted by the Review, saying that Saudi companies would be willing to boost their stake to defend his position.