(Reuters) – Hedge fund Starboard Value confirmed on Monday it had filed a shareholder resolution to eliminate the dual-class share structure that allows Rupert Murdoch to control News Corp, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal.
Starboard announced its move only days after Reuters exclusively reported that it had filed the proposal to abolish the stock structure, which gives Murdoch 40% of News Corp’s voting stock despite owning an equity stake of about 14%.
“This is clearly not the appropriate governance structure for a public company, and we believe it has exacerbated News Corp’s valuation discount relative to its inherent value,” the hedge fund said in a statement.
It says there is no reason to extend super-voting rights to Murdoch’s children and that it has hit News Corp’s stock.
Starboard said it will detail more information in the weeks ahead and warned the News Corp board to listen to concerns about its structure.
“If the Board refuses to listen, we can then take further action,” Starboard added.
News Corp was not immediately available for comment.
Starboard’s move comes as 93-year-old media tycoon Murdoch is locked in a legal dispute with some of his children to try to ensure that his son Lachlan will control News Corp and broadcasting giant Fox Corp after his death.
News Corp said last month it was considering options for Foxtel, its Australia-based subscription television provider, in response to interest from a third party.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York, Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber, Savio D’Souza and Alexander Smith)
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