Rupert Murdoch calls off proposed Fox-News Corp merger

Billionaire mogul says in letter that proposal to reunite companies he split up a decade ago ‘not optimal’ for shareholders

Fox Corp said on Tuesday that Rupert Murdoch had scrapped a proposal to combine the company with News Corp, in a deal that would have reunited the media empire he split nearly a decade ago.

Murdoch sent a letter to News Corp and Fox withdrawing his proposal to reunite the companies, according to a regulatory filing. He indicated that he and his son, Fox Corp chief executive Lachlan Murdoch, had determined that the combination is “not optimal” for shareholders.