Now more than ever, we need an independent media. In the "information battle space," the playing field is heavily weighted in favor of the enemy.
Prince Alwaleed told Arab News that the deal was not cash-driven. It went "way beyond finance." Rotana, which owns the largest record label in the Arab world and 11 television channels, was "fully financed," he said.
Alwaleed owns 7% of Fox and a large percentage of Obama too.
Murdoch Buys into Rotona Arab News (hat tip seeteuful)
RIYADH: News Corp, the media empire owned by Rupert Murdoch, is to buy a 9.09-percent stake in Rotana, the Saudi-based Middle Eastern music and entertainment group wholly owned by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
The $70 million deal, announced at a news conference by the prince at his Kingdom Tower headquarters in Riyadh on Tuesday, deepens the burgeoning partnership between the two media moguls. Prince Alwaleed already holds a seven-percent stake in News Corp, whose stable includes 20th Century Fox, Fox News, the New York Post, the London Times and Sky TV.
Under the agreement, News Corp has an option to acquire a further 9.09-percent stake in Rotana. The option will run for 18 months after the deal is signed.
New Corp has been seeking to expand its presence in the growing Middle Eastern entertainment market for some time and has been considering a number of ventures in partnership with the prince's Kingdom Holding Company (KHC). Five months ago it was reported in the Wall Street Journal that the Murdoch group was looking at a 20-percent stake in Rotana.
Prince Alwaleed told Arab News that the deal was not cash-driven. It went "way beyond finance." Rotana, which owns the largest record label in the Arab world and 11 television channels, was "fully financed" he said. The deal was about News Corp's confidence in Rotana and commitment to it. It will enable the media group to gain from News Corp's experience in movie production, television, the news media and technology. He spoke of its providing a "qualitative leap" not just for Rotana but for the Arab world.
The prince said that the deal would strengthen the existing relationship with News Corp — "building Rotana's presence across the region and expanding its reach to the Arab diaspora around the world."
In a prepared statement, Rupert Murdoch's son James, who heads News Corp's European and Asian arm, said that the newly acquired stake would help his company expand its presence in "a region with a young and growing population where GDP is set to outstrip that of more developed economies in the years ahead."
