Rupert Murdoch, media mogul and CEO of Twenty-First Century Fox, has
demonstrated his intent to expand business globally through a number of major
deals undertaken over the last year. Speculation suggests he now has his
sights set on acquiring Time Warner, which holds a number of valuable
subsidiaries such as HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Network and CNN.
Rumours of Murdoch’s interest in the media conglomerate have developed in the
build-up to the annual Allen & Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, an
exclusive industry event where heads of media and technology companies
conduct the biggest deals in the business. The conference has cultivated major
acquisitions including that of NBC Universal by Comcast as well as Disney’s
purchase of Capital Cities/ABC.
Murdoch spent $70m in acquiring Vice Media, a digital media distributor and
video journalism portal aimed at 18 to 35-year-olds, and $415m on the
purchase of leading book publisher Harlequin Enterprises, but the estimated $62bn market value of Time Warner is a far more significant expense.
There has been no comment on the topic from either Time Warner or Murdoch’s
representation.
