Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has withdrawn its bid for CNN parent company Time Warner, the New York Times reports:
In a statement, 21st Century Fox said that it still believed that a union of the two made sense, creating a colossus in the television and film giants. But Time Warner‘s firm rejection of its outreach and a drop in its own stock price made further pursuit of a bid untenable.
“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,” Mr. Murdoch said in a statement.
AdvertisementInstead, 21st Century Fox said that it would buy back $6 billion of its shares. Shares of 21st Century Fox rose sharply in after-hours trading, while Time Warner shares fell more than 10 percent.