News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch Sells All His Non-Voting Stock

5:32 PM PST 11/21/2012 by Georg Szalai

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The $10 million transaction does not include the 40 percent of voting shares controlled by the Murdoch family.

News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch sold the remaining nonvoting stock in the entertainment conglomerate held in his name, without giving up any voting stock.

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In a regulatory filing late Wednesday, News Corp. said Murdoch sold all 418,631 shares of Class A stock that he still owned, garnering prices between $23.87 and $24.01 and raising a total of more than $10 million.

However, through various trusts, Murdoch and his family continue to own Class A stock. As of a regulatory filing in mid-August, the family held more than 9.2 million such shares.

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Importantly, Murdoch's family also continues to control a nearly 40 percent voting stake in News Corp. via the ownership of Class B stock. Adding in a 7 percent stake owned by Murdoch ally Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, the Murdochs have remained in clear control of the conglomerate.

A News Corp. representative declined comment, but the sale of Class A stock is believed to have been made for estate planning purposes, meaning purely financial reasons.

Murdoch had sold the majority of his Class A stock around the same time last year. Back then, he sold 3.63 million shares for $61.7 million.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai