P.M. BRIEFING : Murdoch’s Stock Drops Sharply
SYDNEY, Australia — Fears about the ability of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. to pay its debts and an apparent delay in securing refinancing pushed the media giant’s stock sharply lower today.
The Sydney-based company, with an international empire that includes the 20th Century Fox film studios, Fox Broadcasting network and TV Guide magazine in the United States and one-third of Britain’s newspapers, has yet to reach agreement with all of its 150 lender banks on the refinancing package, including a new $600-million credit.
The stock sank 56 cents, or almost 15%, to a low of $3.27 after the company disclosed that it might be insolvent by June if it does not secure an $8-billion refinancing package. At the close of trading, the stock was at $3.31.
In morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, News Corp.’s U.S. shares were at $6.75, off 62.5 cents.
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