Activist investor Starboard Value has submitted a non-binding proposal that would end Murdoch family control of News Corp, according to a letter sent to the company’s shareholders.
The proposal takes aim at the Murdoch family’s outsized voting weight at the media group, which has assets including The Wall Street Journal and newspapers across the globe.
Rupert Murdoch, the 93-year old patriarch, and four of his six children control News Corp through a family trust. They own about 14 per cent of the company’s equity but dual-class shares give the family control of 41 per cent of the voting power at the group, which has a $15bn market capitalisation.