News Corp. To Buy Shine Group For $673M

LONDON (AP) — Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. has reached a deal to buy Shine Group, a television production company founded by the business magnate’s daughter Elisabeth, for 415 million pounds ($673.3 million).

The company said Monday it signed a non-binding letter of intent and will proceed with the necessary regulatory filings to acquire Shine, the producer of popular British shows like “Masterchef” and “Merlin.”

In a joint statement, Rupert Murdoch praised Shine’s “outstanding creative team” and said he expects his daughter to join News Corp.’s board once the deal is complete.

Elisabeth Murdoch, a former managing director of Sky Networks who left her father’s company in 2000 to start Shine, said the alliance will help prepare her company for future growth.

“I could not be happier or more proud that from such modest beginnings Shine will join such an extraordinary group of companies,” she said in the statement.

News Corp. is one of the world’s largest media empires, and owns the Times and Sun newspapers in Britain, the Fox News Channel and the Wall Street Journal.

News Corp. and Shine said they will continue to negotiate the final terms of the agreement, which will be subject to approval from both companies’ boards, the audit committee and the receipt of an independent fairness opinion. The companies did not say when they expect the deal to be completed.

Once the deal closes, Shine Group will report to Chase Carey, News Corp.’s deputy chairman, president and chief operating officer.