Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has said that it has withdrawn its $80bn (€59bn) bid for rival media company Time Warner and will instead buy back $6bn of its own shares.
The announcement was made as US stock markets closed and a day ahead of Fox, which operates the Fox Sports channels, revealing its latest quarterly results.
“We viewed a combination with Time Warner as a unique opportunity to bring together two great companies, each with celebrated content and brands,” Murdoch said.
“Our proposal had significant strategic merit and compelling financial rationale and our approach had always been friendly. However, Time Warner management and its board refused to engage with us to explore an offer which was highly compelling. The reaction in our share price since our proposal was made undervalues our stock and makes the transaction unattractive to Fox shareholders.”
He added that these factors, “coupled with our commitment to be both disciplined in our approach to the combination and focused on delivering value for the Fox shareholders, has led us to withdraw our offer.”
But several analysts have claimed that this is unlikely to be the end of the matter.
In July, just days after it emerged that Time Warner had rejected Fox’s initial takeover bid, Time Warner’s board approved a measure to block a section of its shareholders from forcing a vote on the proposed transaction.
In after-hours trading, Time Warner’s share price fell by 10 per cent while Fox’s price increased by seven per cent.