New News Corp to start as separate company after $1.8 billion contribution from Murdoch

The publishing arm of Rupert Murdoch’s media company, News Corp, will start as a separate, public company after Murdoch injected $1.8 billion (£1.2 billion) into the business – net cash and no debt.

The company will include five different news divisions: news and information, which will include British newspaper News International and the US paper Wall Street Journal; digital real estate; HarperCollins book publishing; Fox Sports Australia’s cable programming; and “other”.

The funding means that the New News Corp will break away from News Corp’s entertainment company Fox Group without losing its TV and Film properties, totalling assets worth $18.6 billion.

Due to the acquisition of Consolidated Media Holding, New News Corp was up $111 million on the previous year with a net income of $1.3 billion at the end of the six month period in December, though advertising revenues dropped by 7% over the year.

Murdoch will remain chairman and chief executive of Fox Group as well as taking up the position of chairman for New News Corp, with former Times editor Robert Thompson becoming chief executive of the new venture.