News Corp Breakup: What If the Board Votes No?

Shareholders seem to like it, but would a split-up of News Corp. be a good idea for the corporation? WSJ's John Jannarone stops by Mean Street to discuss. Photo: Getty Images.

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... I ... the ... news Corporation ... also doing ... pretty well today ... a pop earlier in the week and is continuing ... as the company board meets later today ... to discuss splitting up the company ... I had a big decision at News Corporation and the man who's been following ... this big story John Jannarone her on the Street reporter for The Wall Street Journal which of course is owned by News Corporation ... and John what's the latest ... on this as the board meets ... well I'm actually now her ministry more than the year whereby I should say the board's given me tonight in Europe stocks took a lot easier is ... well pretty thrilled about this time ... VI the thinking is that I in the company's puts into pieces investors will the don't just see entertainment assets consonants the TV and film stock ... I'm not not what I do ... ALM so ... tonight on the board swim meet for aam we're not sure how long it a couple of hours and if the kiddies through will gain principal green in tomorrow morning ... I'm ... so I'm I'm ... trying to figure out today is um what this really does mean for investors and what happens if you're in business is on its own and ... um ... the the piece of the business that everyone's most excited about his cable time that's very successful channels like ... Fox news By or some others that will the more ... problematic especially with a digital shift its going on which of course is his for newspapers in the latest piece of this story is that these Corporation has hired bankers ... to consider ... what the next pieces would be if they actually go for it with the split ... is that suggests that they're actually pretty close to that ... that new oh yes I mean I think that I'm ... what we might hear tomorrow aam again is that the board has approved this in principle and ... the de tails ... we will I wouldn't expect to encounter on to me new deatails tomorrow morning is to spin and he did this is what we're doing and were in work that'll probably take about a year actually take ... to get this done ... if that happens ... to discuss ... quickly into the into what the board meeting might be like you obviously have ... some very ... powerful players in the company guided Chase Carey the number to what is his role can it be that all this is you go for it well I think he's probably ... very supportive of this time ... he's been ... I and the andthe disorder transaction something that investors have been asking for for quite a long time and ... he's done other things that you called shareholder friendly ... and things like the buyback that to ... on Capri Sun buybacks and on last year so aam increase the program to ten billion dollars that something that ... the investors ... aam you know when when parking to chase credit for so I ... and there been a lot of people talking about this idea is putting the company for years as he noted ... and what what one now it's been almost a year since the hacking scandal ... blew up over ... in the UK what brings this to this point now where they're discussing ... what it it's a it's a tough question ALM I think that certainly the hacking scandal was a piece of that night you know as you said ... this is something that investors in one of the company's been very actively discussing and talking to its advisors about for ... for a few years so I think part of it maybe that ... aam ... there's finally feeling ... um and it's made me maybe an hour of Rupert ... Murdoch himself feels that ... on the publishing assets are on our rating on their own on his own DowJones since the end of two thousandseven ... I'm the and the company's done pretty well actually comparison to some the other parts of the ... on the publishing on ... the ... the publishing division ... I'm so the idea is that it's time to actually put more money into that stuff is there any chance the board will vote no and if it does what happens short yellowed and then on then I get a break from write stories ... aam but I e I'd I do think that God given what we know that Rupert's feelings about this and that he had this you know ... basically iam is almost half of voting control the company ... aam I still looks like it's can happen