Saudi prince, Murdoch discuss alliance (WSJ)
By Wiretap staff
Saudi billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal met with Rupert Murdoch last week in which the two discussed "future potential alliance with News Corp.," according to a statement published in the Wall Street Journal on Saturday.
Rotana Media and LBCSAT, 90% owned by Prince Alwaleed, figured in the discussion. In December, Nezar Nagro, president of Rotana, said a deal was in the works for News Corp. to take a 10% stake in the company.
No further details were released by either side.
Rotana hosts News Corp.'s Fox channels in Saudi Arabia via its television network, owns rights to more than 2,000 Arabic movies and the world's largest Arabic language music library, according to Zawya.com data.
The company also manages some of the Arab world's most popular artists, including Egyptian pop star Amr Diab and Lebanese divas Elissa and Haifa Wehbe.
Rotana also ranks among Saudi Arabia's top five channels for advertising revenue.
Prince Alwaleed has amassed investments in banks, hotels and media firms, including Citigroup, News Corp., Apple. and Time Warner.
To read the complete story, click here.
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