Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox media empire reportedly made a move to get even bigger by bidding on Time Warner Inc. However, Time Warner turned down the offer and the report has sent shares for the company skyrocketing in early trading.
Fox bid $80 billion for Time Warner, The New York Times first reported. Later, Fox sent a statement, confirming the report.
“21st Century Fox can confirm that we made a formal proposal to Time Warner last month to combine the two companies,” the statement read. “The Time Warner Board of Directors declined to pursue our proposal. We are not currently in any discussions with Time Warner.”
If Fox and Time Warner did become one company, Murdoch would likely have created one of the largest media empires in the world. Suddenly, Fox, FX, TNT, HBO and TBS would all be under one roof, as would the 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. movie studios.
While Fox didn’t accomplish anything by making the bid, the winner is already Time Warner, even though the deal didn’t happen. As CNBC reports, Time Warner shares jumped 15 percent in premarket trading.
According to the New York Times, Fox first approached Time Warner early last month.