Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch says that his family’s blockbuster $3.3 billion settlement over control of the family trust is “great news for investors.”
Speaking at a Goldman Sachs conference Wednesday, Murdoch said that the settlement will enable the company to act strategically, acknowledging the uncertainty that clouded the company while the legal battle over the Murdoch Family Trust ensued.
“It gives us a clarity about our strategy going forward. It shows that our strategy will be consistent, it’s clear, and it’s very sustainable,” Murdoch said. “We are very pleased to be able to move forward and remain focused on the path that we’re on.”
On Monday, the Murdoch family announced the settlement over the trust, with Lachlan securing control of the family jewels: News Corp. and Fox Corp. His siblings, James Murdoch, Elisabeth Murdoch and Prudence MacLeod, will each receive about $1.1 billion funded in part by the sale of Fox and News Corp. stock.
Insiders and Wall Street analysts believe that with the uncertainty over the company’s control gone, Murdoch will move to put his own stamp on the companies, perhaps through M&A or other dealmaking.
“Now that Lachlan Murdoch has cemented control in a post-Rupert world, we would not be surprised to see an increased level of aggressiveness around M&A. While Fox bought back $1.25 billion of stock in 2025, with the company dramatically outperforming its industry peers, the company is sitting on considerable balance sheet firepower,” Lightshed analyst Rich Greenfield wrote Sept. 8.
Murdoch also said that the company’s advertising sales, which are primarily focused on its sports and news programming, remain “very strong,” in contrast to other media companies, who have seen some pullback from marketers and media buyers, particularly around entertainment programming.
