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ADELAIDE - Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corp, said yesterday that advertising in the group's major markets was flat, but stuck with previously advised earnings guidance for the current year.
Murdoch, meeting shareholders in the city where the global media group was founded, said News Corp would likely drop its poison pill takeover defence once it completed talks for a buyback or swap for Liberty Media's stake.
News also planned to sell four or five smaller television stations in the United States, and expected a strong year in film despite a drop in the first quarter, Murdoch said.
Murdoch reiterated that News, which last month took a 7.5 per cent stake in John Fairfax, did not want to take over the company.
"We just want to make it difficult for anyone to take them over. We don't want to take them over ... we wouldn't be allowed to," he said.
However, he said if a takeover offer for Fairfax emerged, News could increase its stake to more than 10 per cent, which would enable it to block any bid.
- REUTERS
