Business & Finance

Murdochs reach deal in succession battle

A years-long succession battle for control of Rupert Murdoch’s conservative media empire has drawn to a close, with his son Lachlan set to control the news empire.

The deal, which the family announced on Monday, will ensure the ongoing conservative leaning of Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post even after 94-year-old Rupert’s death.

Under the agreement Lachlan will control a new trust while siblings Prue MacLeod, Elizabeth Murdoch and James Murdoch will cease being beneficiaries of any trust with shares in Fox or News Corp.

It follows years of tension between the media mogul and three of his children over the future of the family-owned newspapers and television networks.