The Murdoch family's epic and protracted succession struggle has reached a multibillion-dollar conclusion.
Lachlan Murdoch has finalized an agreement that secures his control over the family's expansive media empire for decades to come, the family said in a Monday announcement, according to The New York Times. The deal ensures that the conglomerate's various outlets, including Fox News, The New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal, will maintain a conservative direction after the death of his father Rupert. An individual with knowledge of the negotiations reported the deal's value at $3.3 billion.
The agreement follows a bold attempt months ago by Rupert and Lachlan to unilaterally alter the conditions of the Murdoch family's irrevocable trust, a move intended to disenfranchise Lachlan's older siblings Prue, Liz, and James, The New York Times reported. While the initial bid was unsuccessful in court, it ultimately compelled the two sides to enter negotiations.
The pact provides the 94-year-old Rupert, who transformed a single Australian newspaper into the globe's most formidable media empire, the outcome he has long desired. It preserves what he has described as the "protector of the conservative voice in the English-speaking world" under the stewardship of his designated successor, Lachlan.
Under the deal's terms, each of Lachlan's three eldest siblings is set to receive $1.1 billion for their entire stake in the empire, the person familiar with the talks stated. These shares are currently held within the existing family trust, which is slated for dissolution. The payment represents approximately 80% of their stock's value as of the close of trading on Friday.
As a component of the arrangement, the current litigation between Rupert and Lachlan, 54, and the three siblings concerning the trust will be terminated. A new Murdoch family trust will be established that encompasses Lachlan and his younger sisters, Grace and Chloe. This new trust will hold the controlling interest in the two primary Murdoch media entities, Fox Corporation and News Corp.
The agreement is complex, involving loans, holding companies, and the sale of stock. Its final details were settled late last week. The conflict over the family trust had attracted significant interest both within and beyond the Murdoch family, as its resolution would determine the future of a media conglomerate that wields considerable political influence across three continents.
This agreement is not expected to cause any immediate changes, as Lachlan has already been managing the Murdoch enterprise for the past several years. However, it does eliminate the uncertainty surrounding the company's future by locking in his long-term leadership. The new trust is set to expire in 2050, ensuring Lachlan retains control of the empire at least until then.
In a sense, both factions have achieved their objectives and can claim victory. Prue, Liz, and James — all of whom are politically less conservative than Lachlan — were eager to separate from a media empire whose politics they had frequently opposed and to add another billion-plus dollars to the multibillion-dollar fortunes already inherited from their father. They are also receiving considerably more for their shares than Lachlan had offered in previous buyout discussions.
The extensive succession conflict originated from a deal Rupert Murdoch made when he divorced his second wife, Anna Mann. He agreed at the time to bequeath equal control of his empire after his death to his four eldest children — Prue, Liz, Lachlan, and James — effectively relinquishing his ability to lock in his preferred successor.
This arrangement became progressively more untenable as the country grew increasingly polarized and Fox News migrated with its audience further to the right. The Murdoch family itself became polarized over the conservative politics of their empire, and their Shakespearean succession saga — the inspiration for a hit drama on HBO — became a modern political parable with global implications.
Family friction reached a climax last year when Rupert and Lachlan maneuvered to consolidate Lachlan's leadership by altering the trust with a strategy they called "Project Family Harmony." The trust had been drafted to be inviolable until its 2030 expiration. If Rupert had died before then, Prue, Liz, and James could have formed a bloc to oppose Lachlan's leadership. Regardless, once the trust expired in 2030, the three would have been free to sell their shares, and the family would have lost control of the business started by Rupert's father, Keith, nearly a century ago, according to The New York Times.
