News Corp. Lost $7 Million in Staples Deal

News Corp. on Wednesday said it lost $7 million on the $128-million sale of its stake in the Staples Center arena in downtown Los Angeles to billionaire Philip Anschutz.

News Corp., the Sydney, Australia-based media company controlled by Rupert Murdoch, sold its 40% stake to Anschutz Entertainment Group Inc. in May. Terms were not disclosed at the time. The company disclosed the loss Wednesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

News Corp. shed the investment because it wasn’t related to its primary businesses, spokesman Andrew Butcher said. The transaction followed the company’s sale in February of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team to real estate developer Frank McCourt for about $421 million.

News Corp.’s holdings include the 20th Century Fox film studio; the Fox and Fox News television networks; newspapers in Australia, the U.S. and Britain; and controlling stakes in satellite TV broadcasters DirecTV Group Inc. and British Sky Broadcasting Group.

The company’s shares rose 7 cents to $35.42 on the New York Stock Exchange.