James Murdoch was once seen as a possible successor to Disney Chair & CEO Bob IgerGETTY IMAGES
21st Century Fox CEO JAMES MURDOCH is "planning to strike out on his own" if the pending Fox-Disney deal closes, most likely by "starting a venture-capital fund to invest in digital and international media businesses," according to sources cited by Hagey & Flint of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Sources said that Fox co-Chair LACHLAN MURDOCH, James' older brother, is "expected to become" CEO of the "remaining Fox company, so-called New Fox." In recent weeks James Murdoch has "begun to tell associates that he isn’t going to Disney." Sources said that the notion of James Murdoch "having a possible role at Disney wasn’t a factor in Fox’s final decision to opt for Disney’s offer over Comcast’s." Meanwhile, Fox CFO JOHN NALLEN is "expected to become" the COO of the so-called New Fox (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/9). In N.Y., Brooks Barnes notes at "one point last fall, during the acquisition talks" between Fox Exec Chair RUPERT MURDOCH and Disney Chair & CEO BOB IGER, James Murdoch had "seen a path to Disney’s corner office." Iger was "expected to retire" in '19 and a "long search for a successor had yet to identify" one. But the "likelihood of a very senior role" for James Murdoch at Disney -- one that would set him up as Iger’s successor -- had "grown slim by the time the deal was unveiled." But should the deal close, it will "still be a financial boon" to James Murdoch, as he "will emerge with a stake in Disney worth at least" $1B. Unlike his older brother, James Murdoch has "never worked outside the family businesses, other than founding a hip-hop record label after dropping out of Harvard." Rupert Murdoch "bought it, bringing James into the corporate fold" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/9).
