21st Century Fox Withdraws Bid For Time Warner

(RTTNews) - 21st Century Fox, Inc. (FOXA, FOX) said Tuesday that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Time Warner Inc. (TWX).

21st Century Fox Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch said, "We viewed a combination with Time Warner as a unique opportunity to bring together two great companies, each with celebrated content and brands. Our proposal had significant strategic merit and compelling financial rationale and our approach had always been friendly. However, Time Warner management and its Board refused to engage with us to explore an offer which was highly compelling. Additionally, the reaction in our share price since our proposal was made undervalues our stock and makes the transaction unattractive to Fox shareholders. These factors, coupled with our commitment to be both disciplined in our approach to the combination and focused on delivering value for the Fox shareholders, has led us to withdraw our offer."

21st Century Fox also sid its Board has authorized a $6 billion share repurchase program. The repurchase of an additional $6 billion of Class A Common Stock is expected to be completed in the next 12 months.

Time Warner last month rejected a takeover bid from 21st Century Fox, saying that the proposal was not in the best interests of the company or its stockholders. 21st Century Fox had offered to acquire all of Time Warner outstanding shares for a combination of 1.531 of 21st Century Fox Class A non-voting common shares and $32.42 in cash per share.