Murdoch’s escape route

Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has been built on acquisitions dating back to his swoop on the News Of the World in 1969.

So it comes as something of a shock that the 86-year-old mogul is close to selling the larger part of 21st Century Fox to Disney.

On the table are key assets, including the movie studios and cable channels such as National Geographic, Star in Asia and British-based Sky where Fox has put in a bid for the 61pc of the shares it doesn’t own.

A $60bn (£45bn) value reportedly is being put on the assets being sold, leaving a rump of Fox with its soar-away news operations and national sports rights.

the Murdoch family apparently decided Fox is sub-scale and needed to throw in its lot with a bigger player as newcomers to the entertainment industry, such as Netflix and Amazon, build creative studios and invest heavily in internet streaming.

It is still unclear how the transaction will be structured. But if, as reported, the Murdoch family decide to take part or all payment in Disney shares, they could end up among the largest shareholders in the enlarged company with James Murdoch holding a senior executive position. If the past is any guide to the future, the fox will be in the chicken coop.

the uK takeover code requires the bid for the Sky stake to still go ahead. Critics feared that a Sky deal would give the Murdochs too dominant a role in uK media, and this is being looked at by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Of as much interest is what the uS authorities would make of such a deal.

the Department of Justice has launched a lawsuit seeking to block the proposed takeover of time Warner (a rival to 21st Century Fox) by telecoms group At&t.

It is seen as a vertical takeover, which would give the combined group control over creative content and delivery systems.

Disney/21st Century would be a horizontal transaction, which potentially could also be anti- competitive. But with an increasing number of players in the entertainment market, referral looks less likely.

Picture perfect

HOW refreshing to see a British-based company make a sizeable transatlantic takeover. the £2.7bn reverse takeover by Brentford based Cineworld for regal cinemas in the uS will create the world’s secondlargest chain of movie houses.

the price may look a little rich but the Greidinger family, which holds 28pc of Cineworld shares through Global City Holdings, is putting its money where its mouth is by taking up its full allocation from a rights issue.

What may be questioned is expanding into cinemas when so many millennials seem to spend their time streaming.

However, as we know from surveys, consumers these days are more hooked on the ‘going out’ experience than old-fashioned retail therapy.

In spite of the rise of the box set and streaming, box office receipts in the uS have been holding up reasonably well and stand at a shade under $10bn a year.

But cinema-going is far from being a growth industry.

Cineworld boss Mooky Greidinger argues that the American love affair with movies is nowhere near over and there may be an opportunity to improve margins.

But America, like the uK, has experienced a squeeze on household incomes. there may well be limits on what Middle America is willing to pay for a movie and a supersized carton of popcorn, even if is the next episode in Disney’s Star Wars saga.

the deal represents a step change for Cineworld which will need to generate cash flow and earnings if it is to pay down debt.

Nevertheless, the company should be applauded for showing ambition when too many British boards sit on their hands in the hope that a foreign predator will relieve them of the need to manage their own affairs.

Brighton adventure

AS A student, my regular holiday job was renting out deck chairs in the shade of the palace (now Brighton) pier.

So when serial entrepreneur Luke Johnson bought the pier and floated it on AIM, I couldn’t resist a small flutter on the shares of a landmark in my native town.

Imagine the surprise when Johnson announced yesterday he was going into mini-golf with the purchase of paradise Island Adventure Golf, with six indoor outlets in Scotland and the north.

Sussex next, I trust.