Rupert Murdoch's Target Pay to Grow 15 Percent, Be More Success-Based After News Corp. Split

Rupert Murdoch's target direct compensation will grow 15 percent, but be more performance-based after the split of News Corp. into two companies, according to a regulatory filing on Friday

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The split is expected mid-year.

The mogul's target total direct compensation for new News Corp. and 21st Century Fox for fiscal year 2014, which will start mid-year, marks the mid-teen increase. But the filing highlighted: "The entire amount of the increase [is] allocated to Mr. Murdoch’s performance-based, long-term incentive opportunity, which will further align Mr. Murdoch’s compensation with the interests of stockholders."

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The media mogul's total direct pay target from both companies amounts to $28.3 million for fiscal year 2014, compared with $24.6 million for fiscal 2013, which ends in June. That excludes such things as pension value and "other compensation," such as the use of the corporate airplane. Murdoch's bigger paycheck will come from the post-split entertainment company.

For the fiscal year ended mid-2012, Murdoch earned $30 million, including pension value and other compensation, down 10 percent.

As executive chairman of the post-split new News Corp., Murdoch will receive "compensation commensurate to his strategic role ... with a significant portion of his target total direct compensation at-risk and linked to performance," according to the filing. He will receive a fiscal 2014 base salary of $1 million, a performance-based annual bonus with a target of $2 million and a performance-based long-term equity-based award with a target amount of $2 million.

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As chairman and CEO of 21st Century Fox, the conglomerate's compensation committee has determined "to increase the portion of Mr. Murdoch’s target total direct compensation from Fox that is subject to the achievement of long-term financial objectives," the filing said. "As a result, the compensation committee of the board reduced Mr. Murdoch’s base salary from $8.1 million to $7.1 million per year, reduced the target annual bonus opportunity from $12.5 million to $10.5 million and increased the target, performance-based long-term incentive opportunity from $4.0 million to $5.7 million when compared to the target total direct compensation determined by the compensation committee for fiscal 2013."

Concluded the filing: "The compensation committee of the board concluded that Mr. Murdoch’s fiscal 2014 target total direct compensation for new News Corporation and for Fox, both individually and in the aggregate, is competitive and appropriate given Mr. Murdoch’s responsibilities associated with two separate public companies."

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai