1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,719 Speaker 1: Now, after years of a legal battle, the Murdoch family 2 00:00:02,759 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: has settled the succession question. Lachlan Murdoch is the winner. 3 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:08,319 Speaker 1: He will control his father's media group. The family have 4 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: struck an agreement. Lachland controls a new trust. His siblings Preu, Elizabeth, 5 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 1: and James will cease being beneficiaries of any trust with 6 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:18,000 Speaker 1: shares in Foxhall News Call, which means the conservative slant 7 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: of Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and The New 8 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:22,919 Speaker 1: York Post are guaranteed. Patty Manning has authored books and 9 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:27,480 Speaker 1: hosted a podcast on the Murdoch dynasty. Hi, Patty, Hi, Heather, Right, 10 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: what do we know about the deal? 11 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 2: It's an extraordinary deal. In fact, three point three billion 12 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:43,160 Speaker 2: dollars us. The three disaffected siblings, James, Elizabeth, and Prue 13 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 2: will walk away from the Murdoch media empire altogether and 14 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 2: agree under a stand still commitment that they will not 15 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 2: have any further involvement in either Fox or News corporation. 16 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 2: And now I think that that is a that is 17 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:06,919 Speaker 2: definitely a final outcome to the succession question that swelled 18 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 2: around the Murdoch family for almost three three decades. It's 19 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 2: the witch of Rupert Murdock's children. Would get final, unassailable 20 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 2: control of the business. Lachlan is the successor. But it's 21 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:28,399 Speaker 2: an interesting question how the deal is structured, and we're waiting. 22 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,959 Speaker 2: We haven't got full financial disclosure on this, but it 23 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 2: seems that there is. Lochlan Murdock has decided to take 24 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 2: a little bit of a risk that the combined Murdoch 25 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,199 Speaker 2: family holding. A lot of these shares are being sold 26 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 2: to the public. So it's not the case that Lachlan 27 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:46,440 Speaker 2: is buying out his siblings. He's engineered to buy out, 28 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 2: but it's not with his own money. Some of it 29 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:51,200 Speaker 2: is his money, but a good chunk of it is 30 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 2: coming from the public buying this shareholding. 31 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 1: It's interesting now this has been dragging on for such 32 00:01:57,040 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: a long time. So what do you think it was 33 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:00,080 Speaker 1: in the end that managed to get them to to 34 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: let go of the company? Was it just the scale 35 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: of the payout? 36 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 2: I think that the price was part of the sticking 37 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 2: you know, part of the sticking point in the negotiations 38 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:21,399 Speaker 2: was the price. And what what that means is that 39 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 2: there had been previous offers by There had been previous 40 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 2: offers by Lachlan that to buy out his siblings, in 41 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 2: particular James, the most vocal critic of the box and 42 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 2: news businesses, to buy out his you know, buy him 43 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 2: out at fifty percent of the market value of the holding, 44 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 2: for example, or and then it was increased of sixty percent. Now, 45 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 2: what we've seen with this deal is that James, Liz 46 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 2: and Prue have got eighty percent of the market value 47 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 2: of their shareholding held in the Murdock Family trust with 48 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 2: this three point three billion dollar deal. And and Lachlan, 49 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 2: you know, I think will feel that that is, you know, 50 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 2: that's a good outcome. 51 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: Now, Patty obviously difficult to be running a media company 52 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: in the twenty first century, right, things have changed quite 53 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:12,320 Speaker 1: a lot recently. Do you think Lachlan has got Is 54 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: he going to change things up significantly? 55 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 2: I don't think so. I think it's a status quo 56 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:22,359 Speaker 2: outcome for now. I think there are steps that he 57 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:25,640 Speaker 2: has previously signaled he would like to take, like putting 58 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 2: Fox and News back together. They were split in the 59 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 2: wake of the phone acting scandal. But I think he 60 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 2: will want to He will want to recombine them, and 61 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 2: he signaled that in the past, and it was Scotch. 62 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 2: It's the kind of deal he wanted to do, but 63 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 2: it was Scotch by opposition, partly from James as a 64 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 2: beneficiary of the Murdoch Family Trust. And that's the kind 65 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 2: of deal that he will be able to do now 66 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 2: without any challenge. 67 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: Patty, thank you for talking us through at Patty Manning, 68 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: author of minibooks and podcasts, also host of a podcast 69 00:03:58,600 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: on the Murdoch Dynasty. 70 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 2: For more from Hither Duplessy, Allen Drive, listen live to 71 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 2: Newstalk SETB from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast 72 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 2: on iHeartRadio.