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News Corp. plans June 11 shareholder vote on company split

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Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. will hold a special meeting June 11 for shareholders to vote on amendments needed to authorize the company’s plan to break into two separate publicly traded entities.

Shareholders will not be presented with an up-or-down vote on whether News Corp. should divide into two companies. Instead, investors will be asked to approve several housekeeping amendments, including changing the parent company’s name to 21st Century Fox from News Corp.

News Corp. has not established a date for the split to be effective. However, the company is aiming for June 30, the end of its fiscal year.

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After the split, current News Corp. shareholders will receive shares in both companies. 21st Century Fox will be comprised of the profitable television and film assets. Its sister company, which will be made up of the newspaper and other publishing properties, will claim the name News Corp.

The June 11 meeting will be in New York, the company said Tuesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the filing, one amendment asks shareholders to approve the retention of dual classes of stock, which allows Murdoch to maintain control of the company through his holdings of B-class voting shares.

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Murdoch and other members of News Corp.’s board last year unanimously approved the division of the company.

The 82-year-old media baron will serve as chairman of both companies and chief executive of 21st Century Fox. Robert Thomson, former managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, will be chief executive of News Corp.

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In filings last week, News Corp. said that Murdoch could receive as much as $28.3 million for his roles in the two companies in fiscal 2014. That represents a 15% increase over his 2013 compensation package.

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