Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, which owns the Fox Sports pay-television channels, had an $80bn (€59bn) bid to acquire rival media company Time Warner rejected in recent weeks, according to the New York Times newspaper.
The deal would have combined Fox’s growing sports media business with Time Warner’s sports-rights deals in Major League Baseball and professional and college basketball, among other sports.
The company first approached Time Warner in early June, the report said, with 21st Century Fox president Chase Carey meeting privately with Time Warner’s chief executive, Jeff Bewkes. The formal takeover bid comprised $85 in stock and cash for each Time Warner share, with 21st Century Fox indicating that it would pay 60 per cent in stock and 40 per cent in cash.
The newspaper added that Time Warner’s board sent a “terse letter” rejecting the offer, saying the company was better off remaining independent, after discussing the proposal at length.
However, the report said that Murdoch (pictured) is “determined to buy Time Warner and is unlikely to walk away” and is being advised on a potential deal by Goldman Sachs and Centerview Partners. Time Warner has hired Citigroup and other advisers.