boedicca
Uppity Water Nymph from the Land of Funk
- Feb 12, 2007
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He paid $5 billion. They are taking a $3 billion write down this year.
Link? I'd like to read the details.
A Look Inside the Life of News Corp. Mogul and Raging Septuagenarian Rupert Murdoch -- New York Magazine
I looked at News Corps Financials. In early 2009, revenues from Movies and Television dropped, causing the 2009 top line to be less than 2008. NWSA's fiscal year is July through June, so the June 2009 statements reflect the big dip as the financial markets were unwinding in 2008. FY2009 revenues were $30.4B vs. $33B the prior fiscal year.
Everyone who could was writing down assets in that period - when a market corrects, companies tidy up their balance sheet by writing off assets which have dropped in market value. Given the big drop in valuations of assets across the economy, it was quite easy to justify a writedown of the part of the WSJ purchase. (Mark to market accounting applies.) The writedown included more than WSJ - it concerned a portfolio of print properties.
Revenues and profitability have since rebounded - it will be interesting to see the March 31st earnings release to see if this improvement continues.
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