Malone Remarks on News Corp. Rift

Liberty Media Corp. Chairman John Malone said Tuesday that he wanted to hold or expand his company’s stake in Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., heightening a conflict between the executives over the future of Malone’s investment.

“I would prefer either to hold and enhance the position or find a way to distribute the position to shareholders,” Malone, 64, said at an investment conference in New York. “There are lots of options including the status quo.”

Malone’s comments clash with Murdoch’s statement last month that he expected Englewood, Colo.-based Liberty to reduce its 18% voting stake in News Corp. Since then, the two sides have circled each other, with Malone saying he was “delighted” to hold the shares and News Corp. President Peter Chernin saying Liberty needed to complete a transaction more than Murdoch’s company.

“This is a friendly standoff but a standoff nonetheless,” said Matthew Harrigan, an analyst at Janco Partners Inc. “It comes down to what Malone thinks it’s worth versus what Murdoch thinks it’s worth.”

News Corp. spokesman Andrew Butcher, based in New York, declined to comment.

Malone signaled how he would like to see the standoff end, saying he wanted to transfer News Corp. stock to Liberty shareholders tax free and deliver News Corp. voting shares to the Murdoch family.

“If I can pull that off, maybe Rupert would build a statue for me,” Malone said.

Shares of News Corp. fell 24 cents to $17.38 on the New York Stock Exchange. Liberty shares fell 10 cents to $10.16, also on the NYSE.