Foreign media reports and newly unsealed court filings and testimony show Rupert
Murdoch has long sought to recombine Fox Corporation and News Corp and may
pursue a future merger. In 2022 Murdoch, then chairman of both companies after
splitting them less than 10 years earlier, drafted a letter to both boards
saying the family trust would not "support any sale, merger or similar
transaction involving parties other than the two companies." When a
representative for his daughter Elisabeth questioned the plan, Murdoch allegedly
texted: "If necessary, I'll push it through." A prior merger attempt failed amid
investor opposition; June court proceedings indicate he may try again. At a
hearing on whether to unseal testimony, Lachlan Murdoch's lawyer argued
merger-related discussion should remain sealed or redacted because "this could
still happen in the future and would open a new chapter."
