Confirming deal, NWS invests $70 million in Rotana

The company announced yesterday that it had agreed to buy 9.1% of Middle East TV network Rotana Group; the company is owned by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal (left); he's a major investor in News Corp. as well, holding a 7% stake. The deal is valued at $70 million, the company said in a statement.

The Wall Street Journal had reported last month that talks were underway between Alwaleed and CEO Rupert Murdoch.

Deals | Dow Jones sells indexes unit for $608M

CME Group of Chicago agreed to buy 90% of Dow Jones Indexes in a deal announced today that allows Dow Jones & Co. to retain ownership of the brand itself, Reuters says. The brand was created in 1896 by Charles Dow (left), a company founder.

Dow Jones Indexes creates and licenses indexes that investors and others use to measure the performance of markets, including stocks, bonds and real estate, Reuters says. The business offers more than 130,000 equity indices, according to its website.

Under the deal, Dow Jones will "retain a key role in the management of the Dow Jones Industrial Average,'' parent News Corp. said in a statement.

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

Murdoch, prince in talks over Rotana investment

[Meeting: Murdoch, Alwaleed]

The meetings between CEO Rupert Murdoch and Saudi billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal focused on a deal where News Corp. would buy 10% of entertainment conglomerate Rotana Media Services. Alwaleed owns 7% of News Corp., making it the company's single-biggest investor after the Murdoch family.

Rotana, which hosts NWS's Fox channels in Saudi Arabia on its TV network, also owns rights to more than 2,000 Arabic movies and the world's largest Arabic language music library, The Wall Street Journal reports today.

Over the past two decades Prince Alwaleed, through his Riyadh-listed conglomerate Kingdom Holding Co., has focused his investments on banks, hotels and media firms, the WSJ says. It owns 7% of News Corp., according to the most recent proxy statement to shareholders. Kingdom also has built sizable stakes in companies including News Corp., Citigroup, Apple and Time Warner.

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

WSJ | Committee called Murdoch's 'whores'

"He pays them and they do his bidding.
They're his whores."

-- Slate press critic Jack Shafer, on why he says The Wall Street Journal's five-member editorial integrity committee didn't protest more over the forced resignation of top editor Marcus Brauchli. Shafer was one of dozens of people quoted in a new GQ story about the 2007 sale of the Journal to press baron Rupert Murdoch.

Deals | Lachlan Murdoch said out of Nielsen bid

That's according to the New York Post and PaidContent, which says "a group led by James Finkelstein and Pluribus Capital Management has acquired a half-dozen titles from Nielsen, including Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek, Mediaweek, Brandweek and Backstage."

Lachlan Murdoch and his Illyria investment company had been interested in the deal, paidContent reported earlier, and he was supposed to be part of the final group. But the Post's Keith Kelly says Murdoch has dropped out of the final bidding. The NYP, of course, is part of the News Corp. empire.

Lachlan has lately been raising money for investments, most recently by selling all his non-voting shares in NWS.

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

Carey: Don't expect deals anytime soon

Speaking at an investor conference today, Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey said the recent Comcast deal for NBC Universal wouldn't be reason enough for News Corp. to look for any similar deals, MarketWatch says. "In the current economic environment, the company is primarily interested in investing in its existing businesses rather than acquiring, Carey said."