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News Corp. buys Chris-Craft
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August 13, 2000: 9:00 p.m. ET
Australian firm outbids Viacom to acquire TV station group for $5.3 billion
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - News Corp. will announce on Monday the acquisition of TV station group Chris-Craft Industries Inc. for $85 a share, or $5.3 billion, according to published reports.
News Corp, owner of the Fox network, outbid Viacom Inc., owner of CBS and UPN television networks, according to people familiar with the situation, the reports said. Should the deal go through, it will mark a victory for Australian media tycoon and News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch over Viacom's Sumner Redstone.
The stock and cash deal involves a $3.7 billion payment for New York-based Chris-Craft and another $1.6 billion for the shares of Chris-Craft subsidiaries BHC Communications and United Television Inc. that the company does not already own, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the deal on its Web site Friday.
The acquisition would give News Corp. 10 TV stations in several major markets, including New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, which together reach about 22 percent of U.S. households.
The board of News Corp. has approved the deal while the boards of Chris-Craft, BHC and United Television were expected to approve it in votes set for late Sunday, according to the Journal. Chris-Craft currently owns 80 percent of BHC and 58 percent of United, and employs 1,254 people.
This deal will enable News Corp. (NWS: Research, Estimates) to take advantage of changes to TV station ownership rules that allowed broadcasters to own two stations in the one market.
Sydney, Australia-based News Corp. already owns 22 TV stations that reach a total of about 34.5 percent of U.S. households. Under long-standing federal rules, broadcasters are prohibited from owning television stations that reach more than 35 percent of the nation's homes.
Those rules, however, may change under heavy lobbying pressure from News Corp. and other major broadcasters. The Federal Communications Commission has loosened other rules on broadcasting but has so far left in place the 35 percent ownership cap.
News Corp is an international communications company that produces and distributes motion pictures, television broadcasting, newspapers, magazines and books, employing 30,000 people worldwide.
Chris-Craft (CCN: Research, Estimates) stock plunged 8, or 11 percent Friday, to close at 62 on the New York Stock Exchange, after Viacom announced it had "ended discussions with Chris-Craft" about an acquisition.
A few hours later, Chris-Craft announced it was in negotiations with another major media company. Chris-Craft executives could not be reached for comment.
Chris-Craft is engaged in television broadcasting, conducted through its majority-owned subsidiaries, BHC Communications and United Television Inc. 
- from staff and wire reports
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Chris-Craft Industries
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