Murdoch sells his entire Class A non-voting shares

MUMBAI: News Corp chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch has sold his entire Class A non-voting shares to retain his voting stake in the company.

As per regulatory filings, Murdoch sold 418,631 shares on 20 November for more than $10 million at $23.87 to $24.01 per share.

The sale was for estate-planning purposes, reported Bloomberg quoting a source.

The Murdoch family holds 12 per cent but its dual class shareholding structure gives it 40 per cent of the voting power.

It needs to be noted that Murdoch was facing stiff opposition from News Corp shareholders, some of who had proposed sweeping changes to make the management more accountable particularly in the wake of phone hacking scandal in the company?s UK publishing unit.

The investors had also criticised the dual-class structure during the annual general meeting which gives Murdoch family undue power to take their agenda forward.

The company?s Class A shares fell less than 1 percent to $23.82 at the close in New York.