Saudi prince ups News Corp stake

Chris Tryhorn, City correspondent
Tuesday September 6, 2005

Rupert Murdoch's efforts to retain control over his News Corp media empire were boosted today when a billionaire Saudi prince upped his stake in the company.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal now has 5.46% of voting shares in News Corp through his investment company, Kingdom, replacing a 3% stake in non-voting shares he held previously.

The prince repeated his support for Mr Murdoch, whose grip on the company through his family's 30% shareholding has been threatened since rival media mogul John Malone built up an 18% stake earlier in the year.

"Last November I said that I had the utmost confidence in Mr Murdoch, his management team and his succession planning, and that if necessary, the Kingdom companies would replace their non-voting shares with voting shares," Prince Alwaleed said in a statement today.

"The Kingdom companies now own a significant interest in News Corporation voting shares and may purchase more if the situation warrants."

Mr Malone said recently he would like to add to his stake, but News Corp has put in place a "poison pill" plan to stop him.

This has angered many investors, who believe the company promised not to extend the plan without asking their opinion.

Mr Murdoch intends to keep News Corp in family hands, with the most likely successor being his 32-year-old son James, the chief executive of satellite TV company BSkyB.

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