Activist investor Irenic Capital Management is unhappy with the proposed merger between News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWSA) (NASDAQ:NWS) and Fox Corp. (NASDAQ:FOXA) (NASDAQ:FOX), a New York Times report stated. Irenic Capital believes the proposed merger of both news companies, as proposed by Rupert Murdoch, significantly undervalues News Corp., in which it owns roughly 2% of the class B shares.
Irenic Capital has written a letter to the News Corp. board requesting the formation of an independent special committee to study the deal thoroughly. Interestingly, last month, the activist investor also pushed News Corp. to separate its real estate listing and media businesses. Similarly, another activist investor, Airlie Funds Management, is also dissatisfied with the rationale to re-merge the once-separated news companies.
On November 8, News Corp. published its first quarter Fiscal 2023 results. Adjusted earnings nearly halved to $0.12 per share, from the Q1FY22 figure of $0.23 per share. Meanwhile, revenue (adjusted for foreign exchange, acquisitions, and divestitures) grew 3% year-over-year to $2.57 billion.
Is News Corp. Stock a Good Buy?
With one Buy versus one Hold rating, NWSA stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating. On TipRanks, the average News Corp. price forecast of $24.50 implies 37.4% upside potential to current levels. Meanwhile, NWSA stock has lost 20.9% so far this year.
