News Corp., the media company controlled by Rupert Murdoch, boosted its offer for full ownership of Fox Entertainment Group Inc. by 7% to $6 billion.
A committee of Fox directors recommended the higher offer, and shareholders that sued to block the purchase agreed to a settlement, New York-based News Corp. said. Murdoch offered 2.04 News Corp. Class A non-voting shares for each Fox Class A share, up from Murdoch's Jan. 10 offer of 1.9 shares.
Purchasing the 18% of Fox stock it doesn't own would give Murdoch's company all of Fox's $12.2 billion in annual sales and complete its control of assets including the 20th Century Fox film studio, Fox News Channel and 35 U.S. television stations. Fox accounts for 75% of News Corp.'s revenue.
News Corp.'s offer values each Fox share at $34.27. Fox stock rose $1.44 to $35.07, and News Corp. Class A shares rose 48 cents to $17.28, both on the NYSE.
