Moody’s Raises News Corp.’s Credit Outlook

News Corp.’s credit outlook was raised to positive by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited the media company’s cash balance and probability that it would pursue talks with Liberty Media Corp. to cut its 18% voting stake.

The outlook change affects $9.5 billion in News Corp. debt, Moody’s said in a statement. Moody’s had studied raising News Corp.’s credit rating since April and declined to do so because of the “increased event risk” in reaching an agreement with Liberty while maintaining its financial flexibility.

Moody’s said that if News Corp., controlled by Rupert Murdoch, were able to reach an agreement with John Malone’s Liberty, it might reconsider raising News Corp.’s credit rating, which is now Baa3, or one level above non-investment grade.

Shares of New York-based News Corp. fell 17 cents to $17.42 on the NYSE.