A major outside shareholder in News Corp
NWSA,
NWS,
and Fox Corp.
FOXA,
FOX,
opposes a plan by Rupert Murdoch to recombine the companies and wants other alternatives considered, including a breakup of News Corp.
Independent Franchise Partners, a London-based investment firm and one of the largest non-Murdoch holders of both News Corp and Fox, said it told a special committee of News Corp’s board last month that it thinks a combination on its own would fail to realize the full value of the company. It believes any combination should be done in conjunction with the sale of some of News Corp’s most valuable business units.


