Murdochs shunned in News Corp vote

An unprecedented majority of News Corp’s independent shareholders voted to sweep Rupert Murdoch, his sons and other directors off the board, the US media group disclosed on Monday evening, three days after it survived a tempestuous annual meeting.

The details of the protest vote, released late with little explanation, pose no immediate threat to the Murdoch family’s control, given its 38.4 per cent bloc of voting shares and support from Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the Saudi investor who controls 7 per cent. However, they may embarrass independent directors. Several investors and governance campaigners hoped that a large protest would push the board into making reforms, although some noted Mr Murdoch’s record of resisting outside pressure. Just 20 per cent of voting shareholders not aligned with News Corp’s founding family voted for James Murdoch to be re-elected, reflecting concern about the deputy chief operating officer’s response to the UK phone hacking scandal that scuppered the group’s bid for British Sky Broadcasting. He faces a separate re-election battle as chairman of BSkyB next month. Family votes saw James Murdoch re-elected with 65 per cent of all votes cast, but this was down from 89 per cent last year.


Murdochs shunned in News Corp vote