Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has been rejected in an attempt to buy media group Time Warner.
It has been revealed the tycoon offered $80 billion (59.1 billion euros) in an approach made last month.
Time Warner’s board reportedly discussed the bid at length, but said in a statement that the offer – 60 percent cash and 40 percent non-voting stock – was not in the company’s best interests.
There are currently no talks going on between the two.
A merger would create a powerful media giant with an vast array of television networks and channels as well as film studios and combined revenue of over $60 billion (44.33 billion euros).
Shares in Time Warner shot up as soon as the news broke, boosted by the New York Times reporting that Murdoch is determined to buy Time Warner and is unlikely to give up despite the rejection.
A Twenty-First Century Fox source told Reuters Murdoch has the “disciplined determination” to get a deal done.
Time Warner owns the Warner Bros. film studio and cable channels such as HBO and CNN.
Fox, which owns movie studio 20th Century Fox and cable news channel Fox News, offered to sell CNN as part of its proposal to avoid any competition problems, the New York Times reported.
The Times – which first reported the story – said Fox had estimated a combined company would save at least $1 billion (738 milion euros) in costs, primarily by cutting sales staff and back-office functions.
Twenty-First Century Fox is in the middle of a reorganization of its television business as the network seeks to lift itself out of last place among the big US broadcasters.
The shakeup of Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox’s TV units also comes a year after the film and TV company was spun off from Murdoch’s News Corp, which now operates publishing assets, including the Wall Street Journal.
with Reuters