News Corp. made it official Thursday morning, announcing that its board of directors has authorized the company’s management to split the company into entertainment and publishing companies. Under the plan, HarperCollins would be part of a new company that would be heavily newspaper based and include such papers as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and a number of U.K. and Australian papers. The integrated marketing services and education divisions will also be part of the new company.
The separation of the two companies is expected to take about one year. Upon closing of the transaction, News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch would serve as chairman of both companies and CEO of the media and entertainment company. Chase Carey would serve as president and COO of the media and entertainment company. It is not clear who would run the publishing group, with News saying that “over the next several months, the company will assemble management teams and boards of directors for both businesses.”
"This is an exciting development for HarperCollins because we will become part of one of the largest publically traded publishing companies which will provide greater focus and flexibility for growing HarperCollins during a time of tremendous change and opportunities. We do not anticipate any changes now or in the future to our day to day operations as the new publishing company is being formed," an HC spokesperson said in a statement.
