Lachlan Murdoch to become 21st Century Fox CEO — if Disney deal goes through
The big brother won the succession battle.
Lachlan Murdoch is taking the reins at the new 21st Century Fox in anticipation of an agreed sale of Fox’s movie studio, global TV channels and other assets to Disney.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, 21st Century Fox confirmed that the 46-year-old Lachlan would become chief executive of the new company — once the Disney deal is completed.
The release did not address the future of his younger brother, James Murdoch, who is currently chief executive of 21st Century Fox and is expected to pursue his own investments once the deal is closed, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
In a statement, Rupert Murdoch, who will be co-chairman of Fox with Lachlan Murdoch, said: “The new Fox will begin as the only media company solely focused on the domestic market; focused on what Americans love best – sports, news and entertainment, built and delivered for a US audience.”
The company’s chief financial officer, John Nallen, will also take on broader duties as the firm’s chief operating officer. Newly reconstituted Fox will house Fox News, Fox Sports and the Fox broadcast network as well as nine local TV stations.
The Murdoch family also owns a big part of News Corporation, which houses newspapers including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, as well as book publisher Harper Collins and an Australian TV company.
The Fox/Disney deal isn’t done just yet. Comcast is considering a fresh bid in an effort to convince Fox’s shareholders to ditch Disney.
The future of Rupert Murdoch's media empire has been the subject of plenty of speculation over the years as to which brother would end up on top. James and Lachlan took over 21st Century Fox in June 2015, with James as CEO and Lachlan as executive co-chairman with their father Rupert.
In an interview shortly after that move, James and Lachlan discussed growing up together and having the occasional spat.
"From a strategy point of view, on the board-level stuff, I don't think Lachlan and I have ever had any major — or really any minor — disagreements with respect to where the direction of the business needs to be and how we prosecute that," James aid. "But we're brothers, we used to fight like cats in a bag. But you know, we were young then."
Lachlan added: "I always won, which was good."