Bizness Lounge

Elisabeth Murdoch Said Leaving Fox After Shine-Endemol Deal

By Anousha Sakoui  

Elisabeth Murdoch will leave her father’s company again once Shine Group Ltd. (2877), the TV production business she founded and sold to 21st Century Fox Inc. (FOXA), becomes part of a joint venture, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Murdoch, who is non-executive chairman of Shine, will focus on other investments including startup Locksmith Animation, said the people, who asked not to be named because
the matter isn’t public. Her departure is expected by early 2015 when a deal to combine Shine with Apollo Global Management LLC (APO)’s Endemol NV, the Dutch producer of “Big Brother,” and Core Media Group, which owns “American Idol,” is complete.
The departure puts Elisabeth Murdoch, 46, again on an independent path. The executive, who worked for her father Rupert Murdoch earlier in her career, founded Shine in 2001 and rejoined the Fox fold with its sale in 2011. While her brothers James and Lachlan are more often mentioned as candidates to succeed 83-year-old Rupert Murdoch, Elisabeth Murdoch’s name has also come up.
“James Murdoch has been the heir apparent for a while,” Brett Harriss, an analyst at Gabelli & Co., said in an interview. “You could make the argument that this makes his ascent slightly more certain. But you can’t rule her out from having a senior job at Fox in the future.”

Photographer: Tim Whitby/Getty Images

Elisabeth Murdoch has no corporate role at Fox. She worked at British Sky Broadcasting... Read More

Elisabeth Murdoch has no corporate role at Fox. She has worked at British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc (BSY), which is controlled by Fox, the FX cable network and Fox television stations. Shine Group, producer of “The Biggest Loser,” was sold to Fox for 415 million pounds ($673 million).

Hacking Scandal

In 2011, Elisabeth Murdoch withdrew plans to join the board of her father’s News Corp. She later criticized how it handled the U.K. hacking scandal at the newspaper unit led by James Murdoch. News Corp. has since split into two companies, the publishing business and 21st Century Fox, which kept entertainment assets such as Shine.
Elisabeth Murdoch’s brothers received expanded roles at Fox this year. James Murdoch, 41, was named co-chief operating officer of 21st Century Fox in March. Lachlan Murdoch, 43, became non-executive co-chairman of Fox and of News Corp. (NWSA), also in March.
The venture formed by the combination of Endemol, Shine and Core Media will be led by Sophie Turner Laing, former managing director of content at British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc, who was named chief executive officer of the venture, according to an e-mailed statement from Fox.
Just Spee, CEO of Endemol, and Alex Mahon, Shine’s CEO, will also leave, working with Laing on the merger until it is complete, according to the statement.
Fox, based in New York, rose 0.4 percent to $34.29 yesterday in New York. The shares have fallen 2.5 percent this year.