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Saudi Prince pledges to aid Rupert Murdoch

C

conjur

No Lifer
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/94210...bc76-00000e2511c8.html
Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, the billionaire Saudi investor, has vowed to block any hostile takeover bid for News Corp, throwing his support behind Rupert Murdoch, chairman of the US media group.

Kingdom Holding Company, the prince's privately owned investment vehicle, has promised to convert its 3 per cent non-voting stake in News Corp worth about $1bn into voting stock and acquire additional shares in the event of a bid.

The move follows the decision by Liberty Media, the US media investment group led by John Malone, to increase its voting stake in News Corp from 9 per cent to 17 per cent through a share-swap transaction agreed with Merrill Lynch.

Although Mr Malone has insisted there is no plan for a hostile approach, News Corp has adopted a ?poison pill? shareholder rights plan. A deeply discounted 8-for-1 rights issue will be triggered if Liberty Media lifts its News Corp voting stake to more than 18 per cent. News Corp shares rose 3.7 per cent to $18.66 in New York, where the company has been admitted to the S&P500 index after its re-incorporation as a US group.

Prince al-Waleed told the FT: ?The idea is that if the need arises, we will act to keep News Corp independent under the leadership of Mr Murdoch and convert our stock to a voting stake and take whatever additional stake is needed.? He also supported Mr Murdoch's sons, Lachlan and James, who are deputy chief operating officer and chief executive of BSkyB respectively. ?I want to be sure Mr Murdoch and his family and the directors understand I'm ready to assist.?

News Corp, where the Murdoch's hold almost 30 per cent of the voting shares, made no comment on Wednesday. Liberty Media was unavailable for a response.
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FOX News...soon-to-be-named SaudiBushLaden News.
 
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