Cowen analyst Doug Creutz was among the Fox observers on Wall Street lauding the outcome, writing in a report that it “removes an overhang on Fox shares” and adding: “This is the best outcome for Fox shareholders (though it could always be revisited in the future).” The Wall Street expert, who has a “market perform” rating and $36 price target on Fox’s stock, also opined: “We believe the proposal was withdrawn due to opposition from large investors such as T. Rowe Price, which is the second-largest shareholder of News Corp. (with an 18 percent position) behind the Murdoch family. T. Rowe indicated they believed that a combination would further undervalue News Corp. shares.” …
The deal “would annul the potential synergies with Fox Corp.,” Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino argued in a Wednesday report. He also commented on the “risqué relationship” between the two Murdoch companies. “If one were to rewind and find cracks in the prior relationship, one would quickly find out that Fox Corp. spent years indemnifying News Corp.’s legal expenses related to the U.K. hacking scandal,” Supino wrote. “But in true ironic fashion, Fox now finds itself in court defending against defamation allegations from Dominion Voting Systems for election fraud linked to the Trump-Biden run-off. We believe this was a meaningful obstacle to getting the extended family’s approval of a Fox/News Corp. relationship.”
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