News Corp. Sets $5 Billion Stock Buyback

Rupert Murdoch's beleaguered News Corp., whose stock has plummeted 11% since the company's phone hacking scandal blew up last week, on Tuesday announced plans to repurchase $5 billion of its own stock.

With News Corp. shares down, management might be using the opportunity to both prop up the company's stock as well as pick up shares at a bargain price.
The company is under pressure because of a widening scandal involving its British newspapers hacking into phones of individuals it was writing about. The scandal has delayed News Corp.'s purchase of the stake in British Sky Broadcasting it does not already own.
News Corp. said the new buyback program increases the $1.8 billion remaining under its earlier buyback plan. Repurchases will be made through open market transactions. Because the company is currently in a blackout period, it doesn't intend to buy shares until the period ends on August 15. The company is n't obligated to buy shares and the program may be modified at any time.
On Tuesday morning after the buyback announcement, News Corp. shares were up 0.87% to $16.24.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.