21st Century Fox

This article is about the corporation. For this corporation's film studio, see 20th Century Fox. For other uses, see 21st Century Fox (disambiguation).
Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc.
21st Century Fox
Public
Traded as Class A NASDAQ: FOXA
Class B NASDAQ: FOX
NASDAQ-100 Components
(FOX and FOXA)
S&P 500 Component (FOXA)
Industry Mass media
Predecessor News Corporation
Founded June 28, 2013 (2013-06-28)
New York City, New York, United States
Founder Rupert Murdoch
Headquarters 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York City, New York, United States
Coordinates 40°45′31″N 73°58′56″W / 40.7585°N 73.9823°W / 40.7585; -73.9823Coordinates: 40°45′31″N 73°58′56″W / 40.7585°N 73.9823°W / 40.7585; -73.9823
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Rupert Murdoch
(Executive Co-Chairman)
Lachlan Murdoch
(Executive Co-Chairman)
James Murdoch (CEO)
Chase Carey
(Executive Vice Chairman)
Products Broadcast media
Film
Entertainment
Revenue Decrease US$ 28.98 billion (2015)[1]
Increase US$ 9.84 billion (2015)[1]
Increase US$ 8.30 billion (2015)[1]
Total assets Decrease US$ 50.05 billion (2015)[1]
Total equity Decrease US$ 17.22 billion (2015)[1]
Owner Murdoch Family Trust[2]
Number of employees
 20,500 (2015)[1]
Subsidiaries List of subsidiaries
Website 21CF.com

Twenty-First Century Fox (stylized as 21st Century Fox and simply known as Fox) is an American multinational mass media corporation. It was one of two companies formed from the 2013 spin-out of the publishing assets of News Corporation, as founded by Rupert Murdoch in 1979; 21st Century Fox is the legal successor to News Corporation, and primarily deals in the film and television industries. The other company, the "new" News Corporation, holds Murdoch's print interests.

Its assets include the Fox Entertainment Group—owners of the 20th Century Fox film studio and Fox television network among other assets, pan-Asian pay channel operator STAR TV, and a stake in European pay TV company Sky plc.

History

Formation

21st Century Fox was formed by the splitting of entertainment and media properties from News Corporation. In February 2012, Natalie Ravitz accepted a position to become Rupert Murdoch’s Chief of Staff at News Corporation.[3] News Corporation's board approved the split on May 24, 2013, while shareholders approved the split on June 11, 2013;[4] the company completed the split on June 28 and formally started trading on the NASDAQ on July 1.[5][6][7] Plans for the split were originally announced on June 28, 2012, while additional details, and the working name of the new company were unveiled on December 3, 2012.[8][9][10]

Murdoch stated that performing this split would "unlock the true value of both companies and their distinct assets, enabling investors to benefit from the separate strategic opportunities resulting from more focused management of each division." The move also came in the wake of a series of scandals that had damaged the reputation of the company's publishing operations in the United Kingdom.[6][8] The split was structured so that the old News Corporation would change its name to 21st Century Fox and spin off its publishing assets into a "new" News Corporation.[7][11][12]

While the company was originally announced as the Fox Group, on April 16, 2013, Murdoch announced the new name as a way to suggest the retaining of 20th Century Fox's heritage as the group advances into the future. Its logo was officially unveiled on May 9, 2013, featuring a modernized version of the iconic Fox searchlights.[13][14] However, the 21st Century Fox brand does not extend to the existing 20th Century Fox division (which remains under its original name).[15]

The formation of 21st Century Fox was officially finalized on June 28, 2013. It formally began trading on the NASDAQ and Australian Securities Exchange on July 1, 2013.[16][17]

Subsequent history

On January 8, 2014, Rupert Murdoch announced plans to delist 21st Century Fox's shares from the Australian Securities Exchange, in favor of solely trading on the NASDAQ. Its listing in Australia was a holdover from its period as News Corporation, and 21st Century Fox has relatively little presence in Australia unlike News Corp. Murdoch stated that the changes, which were expected to be complete by June 2014, would "simplify the capital and operating structure" of 21st Century Fox and provide "improved liquidity" to shareholders.[17][18]

In June 2014, 21st Century Fox made a bid to acquire Time Warner, which had similarly spun off its publishing assets, for $80 billion in a cash and stock deal. The deal, which was rejected by Time Warner's board of directors in July 2014, would have also involved the sale of CNN to ease antitrust issues.[19] On August 5, 2014, 21st Century Fox announced it had withdrawn its bid for Time Warner.[20] The company's stock had fallen sharply since the bid was announced, prompting directors to announce 21st Century Fox would buy back $6 billion of its shares over the following 12 months.[21]

On July 25, 2014, 21st Century Fox announced the sale of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland to BSkyB for $9 billion, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.[22] Fox would use the money from the sale, along with $25 billion it received from Goldman Sachs, to attempt another bid for Time Warner.

On September 9, 2015, 21st Century Fox announced a for-profit joint venture with the National Geographic Society. The new company will be called National Geographic Partners, and will take ownership of all of National Geographic media and consumer-based operations including National Geographic magazine, and the National Geographic television networks that were already run as a joint venture with the company. 21st Century Fox holds a 73% stake in the company.[23][24]

Operations

21st Century Fox's operations can be broadly categorized into four major reporting segments- cable network programming, television, filmed entertainment, and direct-broadcast satellite television.[25]

Among the divisions of the company is Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products which "licenses and markets properties worldwide" on behalf of a number of 21st Century Fox assets and third-parties.[26]

As of 2015, the senior vice president for government relations was Joe Welch.[27]

Corporate governance

On its formation in 2013, Murdoch was chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, while Chase Carey took the posts of president and chief operating officer.[28] Co-chairman and Co-CEO positions were created in 2014 and filled by Lachlan Murdoch and James Murdoch, respectively, both sons of Rupert Murdoch.[29]

On July 1, 2015, Lachlan Murdoch was elevated to Co-Executive Chairman alongside his father and James Murdoch replaced his father as CEO. Former COO Chase Carey became Executive Vice Chairman.[30]

Assets

21st Century Fox primarily consists of the media and broadcasting properties that were owned by its predecessor, such as the Fox Entertainment Group, STAR TV, and their 39.14% stake in Sky plc. News Corporation's broadcasting properties in Australia, such as Foxtel and Fox Sports Australia, remain a part of the newly renamed News Corp Australia—which was spun off with the new News Corp and is not a part of 21st Century Fox.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2015 annual results". Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.
  2. ↑ Edmund Lee, Jeffrey McCracken and Alex Sherman (July 26, 2014). "Fox Time Warner Bid Pits Fleet Street Against Ivy League". Bloomberg.com.
  3. ↑ Flint, Joe (31 January 2012). "Murdoch taps New York City education official as his chief of staff". Company Town. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  4. ↑ Wall, Matthew (June 11, 2013). "News Corp shareholders vote to split company into two". BBC News Online.
  5. ↑ Rushe, Dominic (June 18, 2013). "Rupert Murdoch splits empire but keeps faith in tomorrow's newspapers". The Guardian.
  6. 1 2 James, Meg (May 24, 2013). "News Corp. board approves company split, set for June 28". Los Angeles Times.
  7. 1 2 James, Meg (April 30, 2013). "News Corp. plans June 11 shareholder vote on company split". Los Angeles Times.
  8. 1 2 Staff (June 28, 2012). "News Corp confirms plan to split the media giant". BBC News Online.
  9. ↑ Turner, Nick; Lee, Edmund (December 3, 2012). "News Corp. Will Use Fox Name as Breakup Proceeds". Bloomberg News.
  10. ↑ Staff (May 30, 2013). "New News is good news, says mogul". Business Day (South Africa). Archived from the original on June 30, 2013.
  11. 1 2 Sweney, Mark (December 21, 2012). "News Corp's head of demerged newspaper arm may take home £2.5m". The Guardian.
  12. ↑ Chozik, Amy (December 21, 2012). "In Filing, News Corp. Says Publishing Business Showed $2.1 Billion Loss". Media Decoder. The New York Times.
  13. ↑ Welch, Chris (May 9, 2013). "21st Century Fox logo unveiled ahead of News Corp split". The Verge (Vox Media). Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  14. ↑ Finke, Nikki (April 16, 2013). "21st Century Fox Is Rupert Murdoch’s Renamed Entertainment Giant "To Take Us Into Future."". Deadline.com.
  15. ↑ Finke, Nikki (April 16, 2013). "No Name Change for 20th Century Fox". Deadline.com.
  16. ↑ Staff (June 28, 2013). "News Corp officially splits in two". Business. BBC News Online.
  17. 1 2 Fixmer, Andy (January 9, 2014). "Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox Abandons Australia Listing". Bloomberg News.
  18. ↑ James, Meg (January 8, 2014). "Fox stock may no longer trade in Murdoch's native Australia". Los Angeles Times.
  19. ↑ Sorkin, Andrew Ross; De La Merced, Michael J. (July 16, 2014). "Rupert Murdoch Is Rebuffed in Offer for Time Warner". DealB%k. The New York Times.
  20. ↑ Staff (August 5, 2014). "21st Century Fox withdraws bid for Time Warner". BBC News Online.
  21. ↑ Saba, Jennifer; Kim, Soyoung (August 5, 2014). "Murdoch withdraws bid to acquire Time Warner". Reuters.
  22. ↑ Holton, Kate; Abboud, Leila (July 25, 2014). "BSkyB to pay $9 billion to create Sky Europe". Reuters.
  23. ↑ "National Geographic magazine is now a for-profit business thanks to Fox". The Verge. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  24. ↑ "National Geographic Society and 21st Century Fox Agree to Expand Partnership". NationalGeographic.com. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  25. ↑ Nielson, Samantha. "Why ValueAct Capital starts new position in 21st Century Fox". Market Realist. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  26. ↑ Staff (December 31, 2014). "Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products Holds Sons of Anarchy Auction with ScreenBid". Wireless News (Florida, United States: Close-up Media) – via Highbeam Research.
  27. ↑ "CASBAA Conference Highlights Gambling and Porn as Main Supports for Indonesian Pirate Websites" (Press release). Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia. January 22, 2015 – via Highbeam Research.
  28. ↑ Greenslade, Roy (April 17, 2013). "Rupert Murdoch renames News Corp entertainment arm 21st Century Fox". The Guardian. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  29. ↑ "21ST CENTURY FOX ANNOUNCES BOARD AND EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP CHANGES" (PDF) (Press release). 21st Century Fox. March 26, 2014.
  30. ↑ "21st Century Fox Announces Changes to Senior Executive Team Effective July 1, 2015". Business Wire. June 16, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.

External links

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